BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2344|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2344
Author: Nielsen (R)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SEN. BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/28/10
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Aanestad, Calderon, Corbett, Correa,
Florez, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Nursing: approved schools
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill clarifies that institution of higher
education, for the purposes of the Board of Registered
Nursing approval of nursing schools, includes community
colleges and private postsecondary institutions offering an
Associate of Arts (AA) or an Associate of Science (AS)
degree. Clarifies that a nursing school that is not an
"institution of higher education" may affiliate with an
institution of higher education offering either an AA or an
AS degree to individuals who graduate from the nursing
school.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing Law
1.Creates the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) within the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Provides for the
licensure and regulation of registered nurses by BRN and
requires BRN to maintain a list of approved nursing
schools.
2.Defines an approved school as an institution of higher
education or school that is affiliated with an
institution of higher education that offers an AA degree
to individuals that graduate from the affiliated nursing
school.
3.Provides that an "institution of higher education"
includes a community college that offers an AA degree.
4.Requires BRN to determine by regulation the required
subjects of instruction to be completed in an approved
school of nursing, including the minimum units of theory
and clinical experience necessary to achieve essential
clinical competency at the entry level of a registered
nurse (RN).
5.Establishes the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education
(BPPE) within DCA and provides for Bureau oversight and
regulation of California private postsecondary
institutions.
This bill:
1.Provides that an "institution of higher education"
includes but is not limited to a community college
offering an AA or AS and private postsecondary
institutions offering an AA or AS.
2.Clarifies that an approved school is as an institution of
higher education or school that is affiliated with an
institution of higher education that offers an AA or AS
to individuals that graduate from the affiliated nursing
school.
Background
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Current law, Business and Professions Code 2786, does not
define "institution of higher education" but provides that
the term includes community colleges offering associate
degrees. Current law also requires that a school that is
not an "institution of higher education" which seeks to
offer a nursing program must make an agreement with an
institution of higher education to grant an associate of
arts degree, or a baccalaureate degree if appropriate, to
individuals who graduate from the nursing program.
According to a Legislative Counsel Bureau opinion provided
by the Author, a private postsecondary institution offering
an AS may qualify as an "institution of higher education"
for the purposes of approval of a nursing program by BRN,
notwithstanding the fact that the institution does not have
an AA degree.
Health Care Workforce Shortage . With an increasingly aging
population, California is in the midst of a health care
workforce shortage. The supply of skilled, trained health
care professionals has diminished in recent years and
according to the non-profit California Institute for
Nursing and Health Care, the state will see a shortage of
over 100,000 nurses by 2020. On March 23, 2009, this
Committee held an informational hearing entitled "The Role
of Private Education Institutions in Preparing California's
Diverse Workforce: Meeting the Challenges of our Workforce
and Job Training Needs." The hearing examined the ability
of private postsecondary institutions to fill the career
preparation needs of California's workforce and evaluate
policy options that allow them to expand their workforce
development programs with the requisite amount of oversight
required to protect students.
Relationship of BPPE to DCA Boards . Nine boards within DCA
have a direct connection to BPPE. While some are required
to review the curriculum and often institutions offering
programs, others require BPPE approval in order to meet
educational requirements for licensure, certification or
registration. The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC)
for example, approves curriculum, facilities, equipment and
textbooks for schools offering training programs for
eventual licensees. The Board of Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) staff grants approval and
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ultimately accreditation of Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technician programs but does not have oversight
of institutions offering these programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
current law is ambiguous as to whether a college that
offers an Associate of Arts Degree (AA) or an Associate of
Science Degree (AS) can be approved by BRN. The author's
office cites the experience of Cambridge Junior College in
Yuba City, a private college accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
(ACICS), as need for this measure. That school was denied
BRN approval to offer a nursing degree because it only
offers an AA in nursing. The author's office argues that
this bill is intended to clarify that a higher education
institution offering an AA and/or an AS degree, or school
affiliated with such an institution that meets with other
established requirements, may become approved for nursing
schools by BRN.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero, Norby, Skinner, Vacancy
JJA:cm 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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