BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2344
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 5, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                AB 2344 (Nielsen) - As Introduced:  February 19, 2010

          Policy Committee:                             Higher  
          EducationVote:  9-0
                       Business and Professions               11-0      

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Redefines "institution of higher education," for the purposes  
            of Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) approval of schools of  
            nursing, to include community colleges and private  
            postsecondary institutions offering an associate of arts or an  
            associate of science degree.

          2)Clarifies that a nursing school that is not an "institution of  
            higher education" may affiliate with an institution of higher  
            education offering either an associate of arts or an associate  
            of science degree to individuals who graduate from the nursing  
            school. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible fiscal impact to the BRN, as the bill's clarification  
          will not measurably impact the board's workload.

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  .  Current law provides for the licensure and regulation  
          of registered nurses by BRN and requires BRN to establish a list  
          of approved nursing schools. According to the author, these  
          statutes are ambiguous as to whether a college that offers an  
          associate of science degree can be approved for a nursing  
          program by BRN. The author argues that this ambiguity led to  
          Cambridge Junior College, a private college accredited by the  
          Accreditation Council for Independent Colleges and Schools,  








                                                                  AB 2344
                                                                  Page  2

          being denied feasibility review for a nursing program by BRN  
          because the college offers an associate of sciences degree but  
          not an associate of arts degree. The author states that this  
          bill is intended to clarify that a higher education institution  
          offering an associate of arts and/or an associate of sciences  
          degree, or school affiliated with such an institution that meets  
          with other established requirements, may become approved for  
          nursing schools by BRN.  The BRN believes this clarification to  
          existing law is needed.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081