BILL NUMBER: AB 555 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to add and repeal Article 1.5 (commencing with Section
48805) of Chapter 5 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Education Code, relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 555, as introduced, Furutani. Community colleges: attendance by
secondary school pupils: partnerships.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under
the administration of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes the establishment of
community college districts under the administration of community
college governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide
instruction at community college campuses throughout the state.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district
to authorize pupils, with parental permission, who would benefit from
advanced scholastic or vocational work, to attend community college
as special part-time students to undertake one or more courses of
instruction at the community college level, in order to provide
educational enrichment opportunities for a limited number of eligible
pupils.
This bill would authorize unspecified community college districts
to enter into partnerships with school districts to provide secondary
school pupils with the opportunity to benefit from advanced
scholastic, career-technical, or vocational work, or other coursework
at a campus of the California Community Colleges.
The bill would require, for each partnership entered into pursuant
to the bill, the affected community college district and school
district to submit an annual report containing prescribed data.
These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2015.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Campuses of the California Community Colleges are located
throughout California, providing an educational resource for all
communities.
(b) Some secondary school pupils are allowed to take classes at
community colleges. These pupils are called "special-admits," and
they participate in "concurrent enrollment programs," mainly targeted
at "advanced education," primarily defined as college-level work.
(c) There are strict limits on this activity in law, providing
these opportunities to only 5 percent of any high school class and
restricting the types of classes pupils may take to include only
"advanced education" in most cases.
(d) A serious abuse of concurrent enrollment by a few school and
community college districts several years ago resulted in statutory
reform and restriction on this type of enrollment.
(e) The current restrictions inhibit local ability to make maximum
use of community college facilities and opportunities, and the time
has come to encourage and expand these valuable programs, but with
appropriate statutory prohibitions to guard against a repeat of the
abuses of the past.
(f) Allowing high school pupils to take community college courses
could provide benefits to pupils and to the state in a wide array of
opportunities, including more opportunities for advanced scholastic
work, career-technical partnerships and coursework, basic skills,
English as a second language, and dropout prevention.
(g) Exposure to college classes and the college environment while
in high school improves college participation rates.
SEC. 2. Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 48805) is added to
Chapter 5 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 1.5. Partnerships Between Community College Districts
and School Districts
48805. The following community college districts shall be the
only districts eligible to enter into a partnership under this
article:
(a) ____________________.
(b) ____________________.
(c) ____________________.
48806. (a) (1) The governing board of a community college
district may enter into a formal partnership with a school district
or school districts located within its immediate service area to
provide elementary and secondary school pupils with the opportunity
to benefit from advanced scholastic, career-technical, or vocational
work, and basic skills courses.
(2) A participating community college district shall adopt a
partnership agreement with each school district partner. The
partnership agreement shall be approved by the governing board of the
community college district and the governing board of the school
district.
(3) (A) The partnership agreement shall outline the terms of the
partnership, and may include, but not necessarily be limited to, the
scope, nature, and schedule of courses offered. The partnership
agreement may establish protocols for information sharing and joint
facilities use.
(B) A copy of the partnership agreement shall be filed with the
State Department of Education and with the office of the Chancellor
of the California Community Colleges prior to the start of a program
effort authorized by this article.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any applicable
open course requirements that are operative either in statute or in
regulations of the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges shall be waived for any community college district governing
board that enters into an agreement pursuant to this section for
instruction for secondary school pupils on a campus of the partner
school district.
(5) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this article,
to provide a smoother transition from high school to college for
pupils by providing them with greater exposure to the collegiate
atmosphere, and to maximize the educational opportunities available
to California's secondary school pupils by encouraging programs and
partnerships between school districts and community college
districts, including, but not necessarily limited to, advanced
scholastic, college-level, and career-technical coursework, summer
school opportunities, English as a second language instruction, basic
skills remediation, and dropout intervention.
(6) A community college district shall not provide physical
education course opportunities to secondary school pupils pursuant to
this article.
(7) A pupil shall receive credit for community college courses
that he or she completes at the level determined to be appropriate by
the school district and community college governing boards pursuant
to the partnership agreement as described in paragraph (2).
(b) For purposes of state apportionments, a community college
district shall be credited additional full-time equivalent students
attributable to the attendance of pupils in community college courses
as special part-time students pursuant to this article.
(c) A school district the pupils of which attend community college
courses as special part-time students pursuant to this section
shall, for purposes of state apportionments, continue to receive
credit for attendance by those pupils computed in the manner
prescribed by law. A pupil's attendance at school for the minimum
schoolday shall be deemed a day of attendance for purposes of making
the computation.
(d) (1) A community college district shall not receive a state
allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which a
school district has been, or shall be, paid an allowance or
apportionment.
(2) The attendance of a pupil at a community college as a special
part-time or full-time student pursuant to this section is authorized
attendance, for which the community college shall be credited or
reimbursed pursuant to Section 48802 or 76002, provided that no
school district has received reimbursement for the same instructional
activity. Credit for courses completed shall be at the level
determined to be appropriate by the governing boards of the school
district and the community college district pursuant to the
partnership agreement as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a).
(e) For purposes of this section, a special part-time student may
enroll in up to, and including, 11 units per semester, or the
equivalent thereof, at the community college he or she attends.
(f) The governing board of a community college district shall not
assign a high priority for registration or enrollment to a special
part-time or full-time student attending community college pursuant
to this section in order to ensure that the special students do not
displace regularly admitted students.
48807. (a) For each partnership entered into pursuant to this
article, the affected community college district and school district
shall report annually to the office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges all of the following information:
(1) The total number of secondary school pupils enrolled in each
program, classified by school district.
(2) The total number of successful course completions of secondary
school pupils enrolled in each program, classified by school
district.
(3) The total number of successful course completions of students
in courses equivalent to those courses tracked under paragraph (2) in
the general community college curriculum.
(4) The total number and percentage of students participating in
an advanced education program under this article who successfully
earn a community college certificate or degree, or both.
(5) The total number and percentage of students participating in
an advanced education program under this article who enroll in a
four-year college or university or who transfer from a community
college to a four-year college or university.
(6) The average number of units accrued by students involved in
each advanced education program under this article, classified by
district.
(7) The total number of participants in an advanced education
program under this article at each school location who matriculate at
a college or university in this state.
(8) The total number of students at each school location who are
not participating in an advanced education program under this article
and who matriculate at a college or university in this state.
(b) The annual report required by this section shall be
transmitted to all of the following:
(1) The Legislature.
(2) The Director of Finance.
(3) The Superintendent.
(4) The governing boards of each of the following community
college districts:
(A) Los Angeles.
(B) Los Rios.
(C) San Jose-Evergreen.
(5) The governing board of each participating school district.
48808. This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends
that date.