BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 574
AUTHOR: Hancock
INTRODUCED: February 27, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 15, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Public Safety. A "do pass" motion should
include referral to the Senate Public Safety Committee.
SUBJECT : Inmate Education Provided by Community Colleges
SUMMARY
This bill allows community colleges to receive state
funding for credit courses offered in correctional
institutions, including state correctional facilities.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes a community college district to
claim state apportionment for classes it provides to
inmates of any city, county, or city and county jail, road
camp, farm for adults, or federal correctional facility.
Under current law the attendance hours generated by these
classes, whether credit or noncredit, are counted as
noncredit attendance hours for apportionment purposes.
Classes provided to inmates of state correctional
facilities are not currently authorized for state
apportionment. In addition, no funds provided for inmate
education programs can be considered as part of the base
revenues for community college districts in computing
apportionments. Current law provides an exception to this
restriction for student workload measures generated and
revenues received in the 1994-95 fiscal year.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Waives open course provisions for any local community
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college district governing board that provides classes
for inmates in state correctional facilities.
2) Expands the existing authority of local community
college governing boards to claim FTES for inmate
education programs to include FTES generated in state
correctional facilities.
3) Prohibits the use of the waiver of open course
provisions granted in the bill in any other context or
situation.
4) Authorizes attendance hours generated in community
college courses offered in state, city, county or
federal correctional facilities to be funded at the
marginal credit rate for credit courses and at the
noncredit rate for noncredit courses.
5) Deletes the prohibition on the inclusion of funds
received for inmate education programs in the base
revenue computations for community college district
apportionments.
6) Prohibits community colleges from claiming state
funding for attendance hours generated in any inmate
education class for which the college receives full
compensation for direct education costs or through
contract or instructional agreement from another
public agency or private source, and requires the
offset of state aid for partial compensation received
from any such source.
7) Declares that the bill does not provide a source of
funds to shift, supplant or reduce costs incurred by
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in
providing inmate education.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Elimination of BOG discretion . This bill requires
that open course provisions be waived, eliminating the
discretion of the BOG to oversee, through regulation,
the appropriate payment of apportionment for inmate
education programs. It is unclear why it is necessary
to amend current law in this regard, since local
community college districts may already claim
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apportionment for inmate education programs
notwithstanding open course provisions.
2) Fiscal impact . Credit courses are currently funded at
the rate of $4,564 per full-time equivalent student
(FTES) and noncredit courses at $2,744 per FTES, a
difference of $1,820. According to data provided by
the CCC Chancellor's Office, CCC districts project
provided credit courses for 1,769 FTES in local and
federal correctional facilities in 2006-07. The
majority (1,588 FTES) already receive full credit
funding as distance education courses that are open to
the public. Under this bill, the remainder (181)
would now receive full credit apportionment at an
additional cost of about $315,000.
3) Prior Legislation .
a) SB 413 (Scott, 2008) was essentially
identical to this bill. SB 413 was vetoed by the
Governor whose veto message read in pertinent
part:
This bill is substantively similar to a bill I
previously vetoed in a prior legislative session.
While I respect the author's attempt to get
community colleges to play a role in improving
instructional delivery to correctional inmates,
this bill as drafted appears to create
inappropriate fiscal incentives for community
colleges, state prisons, local correctional
agencies, and other contracting entities that may
lead to supplanting current funding provided
through the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation.
b) SB 672 (Cox, 2005), nearly identical to this
bill, was also vetoed by the Governor. SB 1460
(Cox, 2006), also similar to these bills was held
under submission in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SUPPORT
Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges
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OPPOSITION
None received.