BILL NUMBER: AB 1315 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act relating to postsecondary education.
An act to add and repeal Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
11900) of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1315, as amended, Furutani. Postsecondary education:
partnerships. Education: Gateway Demonstration
Project.
Existing law provides that certain agencies and educational
entities are to make various reports or certifications or to submit
information to specified entities or agencies. These reports,
certifications, and submittals encompass numerous areas of the
Education Code.
This bill would create the Gateway Council comprised of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges, and the Secretary of Labor and
Workforce Development, or their designees.
The bill would require individual demonstration projects to focus
on developing models for improving the transition of individuals with
weak basic skills to postsecondary education that provides
opportunities for employment in high-demand fields where there is
career advancement potential, as well as perform specified functions
relating to this goal. The council would be required to identify
state and federal resources, as well as potential philanthropic
support, to fund gateway demonstration projects, develop a request
for proposal process to fund projects in different geographic areas
of the state, provide project oversight and report outcomes of the
projects. The council would have various specific duties including
developing a request for application to participate process no later
than April 15, 2012, and funding at least 3 demonstration project
sites no later than September 2012. The bill would require the
council to submit a report to the Legislature by January 15, 2016, on
the outcomes of the demonstration project, and make the report
provision inoperative on January 15, 2020.
This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2017, unless
a later enacted statute enacted on or before January 1, 2017 deletes
or extends that date.
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.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to develop demonstration partnerships between adult
education programs and the California Community Colleges to create
"gateway centers" that will accelerate the progress of developing
basic skills of students so that they will be successful students and
obtain well-paying jobs after graduation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
11900) is added to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the
Education Code , to read:
CHAPTER 20. GATEWAY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
11900. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) A college degree or industry-recognized vocational certificate
is the principal pathway to personal economic security.
(2) Remedial English and mathematics, including
English-as-a-second-language programs, are the gateway to college and
skills training for many Californians.
(3) A range of basic skills programs are offered by the State
Department of Education and the California Community Colleges, but
historically these programs have not been well connected or
coordinated, and current institutional practices impede the effective
transition of students across systems from basic skills courses into
postsecondary education and training programs.
(4) Many adult learners make no or minimal progress with only an
extremely small percentage attaining a postsecondary certificate or
degree or transferring to a four-year college.
(5) Recent budget cutbacks and changes to categorical program
funding have resulted in decreased funding for basic skills
offerings, necessitating a reexamination of California's basic skills
system and how it meets the needs of all Californians, especially
for low-skilled adult learners and underrepresented students of
color.
(6) As policymakers consider broad, statewide reform, local
service providers are best equipped to develop and identify effective
program models to accelerate student progress, improve program
outcomes, and serve greater numbers of students with limited funding.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to create the Gateway
Demonstration Project to leverage multiple funding streams and
promote innovative and successful practices to improve the transition
of adult learners into entry-level degree or certificate training
programs that are linked to employment, as a building block toward
wider reform of the delivery of adult basic education services in
California. The project would pilot innovative models to create
seamless transitions across adult education, postsecondary education,
and employment. Demonstration sites would develop and test models
that improve alignment, accelerate student progress, leverage
resources across basic skills providers, deliver high-quality
curriculum and instruction, provide student support services and
educator professional development, and lead to improved student
education and employment outcomes. These models would build upon and
leverage the curricula and faculty strengths of the State Department
of Education's adult education programs and the California Community
Colleges' programs to meet the needs of students from low-income and
underserved communities.
11901. (a) The Gateway Council is created to identify state and
federal resources, as well as potential philanthropic support, to
fund gateway demonstration projects, develop a request for proposal
process to fund projects in different geographic areas of the state,
provide project oversight and report outcomes. The Gateway Council
shall be comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and the Secretary of
Labor and Workforce Development, or their designees. The Gateway
Council shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify funding for demonstration projects from sources such
as, but not limited to, the federal Workforce Investment Act, the
federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006,
career technical education funds, community college and adult
education funds, and other grant or philanthropic sources.
(2) Develop a request for application to participate in the
demonstration project no later than April 15, 2012.
(3) Fund a minimum of three demonstration project sites beginning
no later than September 2012.
(4) Prepare a final report or evaluation to the Legislature as
specified in subdivision (c).
(b) Gateway demonstration projects shall focus on developing
models for improving the transition of individuals with weak basic
skills to postsecondary education that provides opportunities for
employment in high-demand fields where there is career advancement
potential. Gateway demonstration projects shall do all of the
following:
(1) Be jointly designed by local and regional partners including
adult education and community college program providers and other
stakeholders with input from business and industry.
(2) Work together to align or redesign regional assessment systems
to provide more consistent and improved diagnostic services to
identify needs of adult students and connect them to learning
strategies that prepare them for success in academic and career
technical courses.
(3) Utilize evidence-based practices, such as contextualized
teaching, accelerated coursework, customized and modularized
instruction, peer group support, and remediation, provided while the
student is concurrently enrolled in credit-bearing college work.
(4) Develop program options that move adult learners toward
postsecondary credentials, including as concurrent enrollment in
adult education and community college, joint instructional offerings,
and team teaching.
(5) Equip learners with the workplace competencies and
college-ready skills to prepare them for certificate and degree
programs.
(6) Provide a range of student support services, such as academic
tutoring, counseling, and financial aid.
(7) Offer professional development opportunities and incentives to
gateway instructors to enhance their pedagogical skills and
instruction practices.
(8) Report on program outcomes for the purpose of continuous
program improvement and program evaluation.
(9) Provide matching funds from local workforce investment boards,
community-based organizations, regional industry partners,
philanthropic or other sources.
(c) The Gateway Council shall submit a final report to the
Legislature by January 15, 2016, on the outcomes of the demonstration
project. Based on demonstration project outcomes and an analysis of
policy and institutional barriers to wider implementation, the
council shall make recommendations to the Legislature regarding how
the State Department of Education and the California Community
Colleges can align institutions and programs more effectively,
increase the quality of instruction, and improve student outcomes,
particularly for underrepresented students of color.
(d) This chapter is repealed on January 1, 2017, unless a later
enacted statute enacted on or before January 1, 2017, deletes or
extends that date.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to develop demonstration partnerships between
adult education programs and the California Community Colleges to
create "gateway centers" that will accelerate the progress of
developing basic skills of students so that they will be successful
students and obtain well-paying jobs after graduation.