BILL NUMBER: AB 2385 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member John A. Perez
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Buchanan)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Galgiani)
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add and repeal Article 3.7 (commencing with Section
78265) of Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the
Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2385, as amended, John A. Perez. Pilot Program for Innovative
Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under
the administration of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary
education in this state. Existing law establishes community college
districts, each of which is administered by a governing board,
throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide
instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained
by the districts.
The bill would establish the Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing
and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges under the administration of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to facilitate the
graduation of community college nursing and allied health students by
piloting innovative models to expand the state's capacity to prepare
a qualified health care workforce. The bill would require the
chancellor's office to establish the pilot program at up to 5
campuses throughout the state according to specified requirements.
The bill would express legislative intent that the pilot program
be funded with a combination of state apportionment funding, federal
grants, employer-based partnerships, and private philanthropic
resources.
The bill would require the chancellor's office to collect
appropriate data for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of
the pilot program. The bill would require the chancellor's office to
analyze this data, and contract with an external evaluator to conduct
an independent evaluation , with findings and
recommendations with respect to the pilot program to be reported to
the Legislature on or before January 1, 2017.
The bill would provide that its provisions would be implemented in
any fiscal year only to the extent that the chancellor's office
determines that sufficient moneys are available to administer the
program.
The bill would provide that the pilot program would become
inoperative on July 1, 2017, and as of January 1, 2018, would be
repealed.
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) Allied health care occupations are expected to grow
dramatically in the next decade, and California labor market data
show that, by 2017, allied health care occupations are projected to
account for more than 1,100,000 jobs around the state, an increase of
close to 130,000 jobs, or 13 percent, from 2007.
(b) Health care industry experts project a growing demand for care
due to burgeoning population growth and an aging population.
Retirements by health care employees will place additional strain on
a system struggling to train the number of qualified individuals
necessary to meet the demands of the health care industry.
(c) Although one of the most publicized shortage areas has been
registered nurses, a wide variety of allied health care occupations
also face worker shortages.
(d) The California Community Colleges system currently trains
approximately 70 percent of registered nurses statewide, and
the system offers offering educational programs
in a variety of allied health care professions.
(e) Allied health care profession education programs are among the
most costly education programs offered by community colleges and
colleges have been forced by fiscal constraints to limit their
enrollment capacity.
(f) Currently, most associate degree nursing and allied health
care profession courses are offered over four semesters or two school
years, and require the completion of 70 units in program courses,
assuming that the student has met all of the prerequisite
requirements and is ready to start the program immediately.
(g) The goal of this bill is to pilot innovative program delivery
and curriculum models to enable more students to earn
their degrees and enter the workforce as quickly as possible
and expand the state's capacity to train a qualified
health care workforce without compromising the integrity of program
and licensure requirements.
(h) Successful program models would be a center of innovation and
a foundation for the newest educational technology and curricular
ideas.
(i) The enactment of the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) and the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) provided
opportunities for California to address critical health care
workforce shortages.
SEC. 2. Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 78265) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 3.7. Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing and Allied
Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges
78265. (a) The Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing and Allied
Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges
is hereby established under the administration of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. The goal of the
pilot program shall be to facilitate the graduation of community
college nursing and allied health students by piloting innovative
models to expand the state's capacity to prepare a qualified health
care workforce.
(b) The chancellor's office shall establish the pilot program at
up to five campuses throughout the state.
(c) The pilot programs shall test innovative program delivery
models to expand the capacity of community colleges to offer health
care training to students in occupations for which there is a
substantial labor market demand. Pilot programs shall test health
care education models that use tools such as technology and flexible
scheduling, and shall coordinate student services and financial
assistance to the maximum extent possible in order to facilitate a
student's successful program completion.
(d) The chancellor's office shall pursue a variety of funding
sources to help support the development and delivery of the pilot
programs and create high-quality curriculum delivery models to be
used in health care certificate and degree programs. These funding
sources shall include, but not be limited to, federal grants,
philanthropic funds, employer monetary and in-kind contributions, and
state and federal workforce funds.
(e) The chancellor's office, contingent upon obtaining resources
to support the development and delivery of the pilot programs, shall
develop a request for application for community colleges to
participate in the pilot program commencing on or after the 2011-12
academic year. The chancellor's office shall develop the request for
application in collaboration with representatives from education,
labor, health care employers, licensing and credentialing
entities, regional occupational centers and programs, hospitals and
nursing organizations, and other appropriate entities. The chancellor'
s office shall specify the amount of baseline funding provided for
each pilot program based upon funding sources developed pursuant to
subdivision (d). Pilot programs shall be in high-demand allied health
care or nursing programs.
(f) The chancellor's office shall select pilot programs that do
all of the following:
(1) Provide students with an industry-recognized certificate or
degree in health care fields for which there is a demonstrated
shortage of workers in the labor market and documented support from
employers.
(2) Demonstrate a capacity to train specified health care workers,
or the ability to sustain or expand current innovative health care
education and training programs, or both. Limited capacity may be
demonstrated by waiting lists to enter existing community college
allied health care or nursing programs.
(3) Provide evidence of sufficient clinical sites for offering the
pilot program.
(4) Include high-quality curriculum delivery models as part of the
pilot program. All courses shall meet the curriculum standards
approved by the appropriate state licensing entities that oversee
each health occupation, and shall not in any way shorten the clinical
units or hours as determined by the appropriate state licensing
entities that oversee each health occupation. Curriculum already
approved by the appropriate state licensing entities that oversee
each health occupation shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of
this paragraph.
(5) Provide flexibility in the delivery of coursework, including,
but not limited to, intensive weekend, evening, and summer courses to
enable students to efficiently complete program requirements.
(6) Offer coordinated supportive services to students, including,
but not limited to, tutoring and financial advising.
(7) Demonstrate clear, nonduplicative , and
articulated education pathways with local secondary and postsecondary
education entities.
(8) Identify resources to support the pilot program, including,
but not limited to, funding provided by the chancellor's office
obtained from outside sources for the support of the pilot program,
local workforce investment funding, and locally provided employer or
philanthropic resources.
(g) The chancellor's office shall select, to the extent possible,
pilot programs that are geographically distributed throughout the
state.
(h) In selecting the pilot programs, the chancellor's office may
give consideration to existing innovative programs currently underway
within the community college system that require additional
resources to move to scale.
78265.1. As used in this article the following definitions apply:
(a) "Chancellor's office" means the Office of the Chancellor of
the California Community Colleges.
(b) "Pilot program" means the Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing
and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges established by Section 78265.
78265.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the pilot
program attract and admit a diverse and talented pool of students
likely to succeed in an innovative program model setting.
(b) To effectuate the legislative intent expressed in subdivision
(a), both of the following shall occur:
(1) In selecting students for admission to the pilot program,
participating campuses may use a diagnostic assessment tool
identified by the chancellor's office pursuant to Section 78261. The
use of a diagnostic assessment tool by a participating campus shall
be part of a comprehensive program-based support system for students
who need skills enhancement prior to entering the program. When the
number of applicants for the pilot program exceeds the capacity to
admit students, a participating campus may administer the
multicriteria screening process established under Section 78261.5
when the use of this process is deemed feasible. do
either of the following when that process is deemed feasible:
(A) Administer the multicriteria screening process established
under Section 78261.5.
(B) Give preference to students who have participated in a health
science pathway program, including, but not limited to, a California
Partnership Health Science and Medical Technology Academy, or a
Career Advancement Academy.
(2) Participating campuses shall provide support services to help
students complete the pilot program. These support services shall
include, but not necessarily be limited to, the presence of student
success advisers, tutors, mentors, appropriate financial assistance,
and aid in placing students who complete the program in appropriate
internships.
78265.3. It is the intent of the Legislature that the pilot
program be funded with a combination of state apportionment funding,
employer-based partnerships, federal grants, and private
philanthropic resources.
78265.4. The chancellor's office shall collect appropriate data
for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program.
The chancellor's office shall analyze this data, and contract with
an external evaluator to conduct an independent evaluation ,
with findings and recommendations with respect to the pilot
program to be reported to the Legislature on or before January 1,
2017.
78265.5. This article shall be implemented in any fiscal year
only to the extent that the chancellor's office determines that
sufficient moneys are available to administer the program.
78265.6. This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017,
and, as of January 1, 2018, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2018, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.
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