BILL ANALYSIS
AB 78
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Date of Hearing: March 3, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 78 (Portantino) - As Introduced: December 18, 2008
SUBJECT : Pupils: concurrent enrollment in community college
and secondary or elementary school.
SUMMARY : Removes certain restrictions on concurrent
enrollment. Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes existing authority for a school district to determine
which secondary pupils may participate in concurrent
enrollment and instead authorizes school districts to enter
into partnerships with California Community College (CCC)
districts to provide concurrent enrollment opportunities that
include, in addition to currently authorized
advanced-scholastic opportunities, career-technical,
vocational, or other coursework at a campus of a CCC.
2)Deletes current legislative intent that states concurrent
enrollment is to provide educational enrichment opportunities
for a limited number of eligible pupils rather than to reduce
current course requirements of elementary and secondary
schools.
3)Removes the requirement that a secondary school pupil be
recommended by the principal of the pupil's school of
attendance in order to attend a CCC and instead requires the
principal be notified of the pupil's attendance at a CCC.
4)Deletes the existing requirement that, for any particular
grade level, a principal may not recommend for CCC attendance
more than 5% of the total number of pupils who completed that
grade immediately prior to the time of recommendation; deletes
the statutory exceptions to that rule; deletes the requirement
that the Chancellor of the CCC report to the Department of
Finance on the number of pupils enrolled per these statutory
exceptions to the 5% rule; and deletes the prohibition against
CCC including enrollment growth attributable to these
statutory exceptions in its annual budget request.
5)Prohibits a CCC district from receiving an allowance or
apportionment for an instructional activity for which a school
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district has been, or shall be, paid an allowance or
apportionment.
6)Removes the requirement that a CCC district assign a low
priority for registration or enrollment for concurrently
enrolled students and instead prohibits a CCC district from
assigning a high priority for registration or enrollment of
concurrently enrolled students.
EXISTING LAW provides for limited concurrent enrollment of
elementary and secondary school pupils in CCC coursework. CCCs
are allowed to admit a limited number of K-12 students as
"special admits," primarily in order to give these students
advanced education at the college level.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Purpose of this bill : According to the author, this
bill seeks to provide a statutory framework that moves
concurrent enrollment closer to fulfilling its potential as an
important tool in meeting the State's educational challenges by
removing the existing statutory barriers. Noting that current
efforts are tightly focused on college-level and
advanced-education opportunities, the author seeks to promote
even greater participation for those who are able to take
college-level classes. According to the author, this bill will
create more robust local partnerships between high schools and
CCC in order to allow and encourage career-technical education
opportunities, better shared use of vocational equipment and
resources, coursework in basic skills and remediation, high
school exit examination preparation, programs targeted at
drop-out intervention and prevention, instruction in English as
a second language, and other opportunities designed to meet the
needs of local communities.
Major barriers removed by this bill :
1)This bill's most significant action is to remove the
restriction that high school principals may not approve summer
concurrent enrollment for more than 5% of the students who
just completed any year in that high school. This provision,
placed into statute in the 1970s, has no apparent current
policy foundation and serves as a significant barrier for
joint use of K-12 and CCC resources and facilities. In recent
years, the Legislature has nibbled away on this restriction by
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approving exemptions to this barrier and extending the sunset
date for those exemptions. Those exemptions are also removed
in this bill because they would no longer be necessary absent
the 5% restriction.
2)This bill permits high school students to enroll in CCC
courses without seeking the recommendation of their high
school principal, requiring these students to notify the
principal instead. The requirement for parental permission is
not removed nor is the requirement for the principal's
recommendation for pre-secondary students.
3)Existing law requires CCC to assign a low priority to the
enrollment of special-admit students. This bill amends the
statute to prohibit CCC districts from assigning a high
priority. According to the author, the CCC districts have
requested this change because the current enrollment system
permits students to add classes through the 3rd week of the
term. If a special-admit student cannot be enrolled until all
other students have had an opportunity, then he or she cannot
be registered until the very end of this time period, creating
uncertainty and delays for high school students. The
prohibition against a high priority, on the other hand,
ensures that special-admit students are not given special
treatment but may enroll at the beginning of a term.
Concurrent enrollment restrictions not removed by this bill:
1)Pupils who have not attained secondary-school level must
receive the permission of the governing board of the school
district of attendance in order to enroll as a special-admit
student CCC.
2)Pupils must obtain parental permission.
3)The CCC may only receive apportionment for attendance by a
special-admit student if the course is open to the general
public and advertised to the public in a specified manner. If
the CCC class is a physical education (PE) class, no more than
10% of its enrollment may be comprised of special-admit
students, and the CCC district may not receive state
apportionment for special-admit students enrolled in PE
classes in excess of 5% of the CCC district's total
apportionment related to the attendance of special-admit
students.
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4)The governing board of a CCC is allowed to restrict the
admission or enrollment of a special-admit student based upon
age, completion of a specified grade level, or lack of
demonstrated eligibility for the instruction based upon
recognized assessment methods.
Previous Legislation : AB 1409 (Portantino) of 2008, which was
substantially similar to this bill, passed out of this committee
unanimously on March 27, 2007, but was subsequently held in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 1473 (Padilla), Chapter
718, Statutes of 2008, extended the exemptions to the 5% summer
school enrollment cap to January 1, 2014. SB 218 (Steinberg) of
2007, which was not heard in a policy committee, would have
expressed legislative intent to enable greater concurrent
enrollment opportunities. SB 1303 (Runner), Chapter 648,
Statutes of 2006, added exemptions to the 5% summer-enrollment
rule. AB 2050 (Canciamilla) of 2006, which was held in the
Senate Appropriations Committee, would have provided full
apportionment to school districts for pupils enrolled in minimum
day and attending a CCC. AB 967 (Canciamilla), Chapter 399,
Statutes of 2005, added a requirement for low enrollment
priority. SB 338 (Scott), Chapter 786, Statutes of 2003,
reformed concurrent enrollment rules in response to abuses in PE
courses.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees
California Postsecondary Education Commission
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960