Amended in Assembly April 21, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1985

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 16, 2016

An act to add Article 9 (commencing with Section 79500) to Chapter 9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to Advanced Placement credit.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1985, as amended, Williams. Postsecondary education.

Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Regents of the University of California, and the Trustees of the California State University, with appropriate consultation with the Academic Senates of the respective segments, to jointly develop, maintain, and disseminate a shared core curriculum in general education courses for the purposes of transfer.

This bill would require the begin insert office of the Chancellor of the end insert California Community Colleges to develop, and each community college district to adopt, a uniform policy to award a pupil who passes an Advanced Placement exam with a begin insert minimum end insert score of 3 begin delete or higher end delete begin insert course end insert credit for begin delete a course within this curriculum end delete begin insert certain requirements in a course end insert begin insert , end insert with subject matter similar to that of the Advanced Placement exam.

To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert The Legislature finds and declares each of the
following: end insert

begin insert

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a uniform
Advanced Placement (AP) credit policy for general education
within the California Community Colleges.

end insert begin insert

(b) Studies consistently find that pupils who earn AP exam
scores of three and higher are likely to demonstrate multiple
measures of college success.

end insert begin insert

(c) The lack of a uniform AP credit policy often serves as an
academic and financial barrier for students enrolling in California
Community Colleges and is a transfer obstacle for many pupils.

end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Article 9 (commencing with Section 79500) is added
to Chapter 9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education
Code, to read:

 

Article 9.  Advanced Placement Credit

 

begin delete

79500.  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a
uniform Advanced Placement (AP) credit policy within the
California Community Colleges.

(b) Studies consistently find that pupils who earn AP Exam
scores of three and higher are likely to demonstrate multiple
measures of college success.

(c) The lack of a uniform AP credit policy often serves as an
academic and financial barrier for students enrolling in California
Community Colleges and is a transfer obstacle for many pupils.

end delete

begin delete 79501. end delete

begin insert 79500. end insert   

The begin insert office of the Chancellor of the end insert California
Community Colleges begin delete shall end delete begin insert shall, in collaboration with the
Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, end insert develop,
and each community college district shall adopt, a uniform policy
to award a pupil who passes an Advanced Placement exam with
a begin insert minimum end insert score of three begin delete or higher end delete begin insert course end insert credit for begin delete a end delete California
Intersegmental General Education Transfer begin delete Curriculum end delete
begin insert Curriculum, California State University General Education
Breadth, or local community college general education
requirements, as appropriate for the pupil’s needs, in a end insert course
with subject matter similar to that of the Advanced Placement
exam.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.