Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2860

Introduced by Assembly Member Brown

February 19, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 84909 of end delete begin insert add Section 84905.5 to end insert the Education Code, relating to adult education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2860, as amended, Brown. Adult education: Adult Education Block Grant begin delete Program. end delete begin insert Program: appeals board. end insert

Existing law establishes the Adult Education Block Grant Program under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Under this program, the chancellor and the Superintendent, with the advice of the Executive Director of the State Board of Education, are required to divide the state into adult education regions and approve one adult education consortium in each adult education region, as specified. Existing law requires the chancellor and the Superintendent, with the advice of the executive director, to approve, for each consortium, rules and procedures that adhere to prescribed conditions. Existing law also requires, as a condition for the receipt of an apportionment of funds from this program for a fiscal year, that members of a consortium approve an adult education plan, as specified.

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Existing law, for the 2016-17 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, requires the chancellor and the Superintendent, with the advice of the executive director, to approve, within 15 days of the enactment of the annual Budget Act and in accordance with prescribed criteria, a final schedule of allocations to each consortium under the program. Existing law specifies that, using the final schedule of allocations, the chancellor and the Superintendent are to either apportion funds to a fund administrator designated by the members of a consortium beginning no more than 30 days after approval of the final schedule of allocations or apportion funds to members of a consortium beginning no more than 30 days after receipt of final a distribution schedule from that consortium.

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This bill would begin delete instead require the chancellor and the Superintendent to apportion funds directly to members of a consortium before the beginning of the fiscal year for which the allocation is to be made. end delete begin insert give a consortium member end insert begin insert the right to submit an appeal to the Adult Education Block Grant Appeals Board, which the bill would establish and that would consist of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Executive Director of the State Board of Education. The bill would set forth the conditions under which an appeal could be submitted, and would provide for procedures and timeframes in accordance with which the appeals board would be required to schedule a hearing on an appeal and post a decision. end insert

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 84905.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 84905.5. end insert   

(a) A consortium member shall have the right to
submit an appeal to the Adult Education Block Grant Appeals
Board, which is hereby established. The members of the appeals
board shall be the chancellor, the Superintendent, and the executive
director.

(b) A consortium member or members may submit an appeal,
in writing, for either of the following reasons:

(1) The consortium has been unable to obtain the approval of
its rules and procedures pursuant to Section 84905.

(2) The consortium has failed to distribute funds pursuant to
Section 84914 in any fiscal year.

(c) When an appeal is submitted pursuant to subdivision (b),
the Adult Education Block Grant Appeals Board shall first
determine if the appeal satisfies the requirements of subdivision
(b). The appeals board shall make this determination within 30
calendar days after receipt of the appeal.

(d) If the appeals board finds that an appeal meets the
requirements of subdivision (b), the appeals board shall schedule
a meeting for purposes of hearing the appeal. The hearing shall
be scheduled in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), and shall
be held within 60 calendar days of the determination made by the
appeals board pursuant to subdivision (c).

(e) The appeals board may request additional information from
the appealing consortium member or from the affected consortium
in order to assist the appeals board while it is hearing the appeal.

(f) The appeals board shall post its decision on an appeal on
the Internet Web site of the chancellor within 30 calendar days of
the hearing. The decision of the appeals board on an appeal heard
pursuant to this section shall be final.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 84909 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

84909.  

(a) This section shall apply commencing with the
2016-17 fiscal year.

(b) The chancellor and the Superintendent, with the advice of
the executive director, shall approve, no later than February 28 of
the prior fiscal year, a preliminary schedule of allocations to each
consortium of any funds proposed in the Governor’s Budget for
the program.

(c) The chancellor and the Superintendent, with the advice of
the executive director, shall approve, within 15 days of enactment
of the annual Budget Act, a final schedule of allocations to each
consortium of any funds appropriated by the Legislature for the
program.

(d) The chancellor and the Superintendent shall determine the
amount to be allocated to each consortium based on the following:

(1) The amount of funds apportioned to the members of that
consortium in the immediately preceding fiscal year.

(2) That adult education region’s share of the statewide need
for adult education.

(3) That consortium’s effectiveness in meeting the educational
needs of adults in the adult education region based on available
data.

(e) Using the final schedule approved pursuant to subdivision
(c), the chancellor and the Superintendent shall apportion funds
directly to members of a consortium before the beginning of the
fiscal year for which the allocation is to be made.

end delete