California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1451

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

January 8, 2014

An act to amend Section 48800 of, and to add Section 48803 to, the Education Code, relating to public schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1451, as introduced, Holden. Concurrent enrollment in secondary school and community college.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to allow pupils whom the district has determined would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work to attend community college as special part-time or full-time students, subject to parental permission. Existing law makes the authority of a school principal to recommend a pupil for community college summer session contingent upon a determination that the pupil meets various criteria and prohibits the principal from recommending more than 5% of the total number of pupils from any particular grade level who completed that grade immediately prior to the time of recommendation for summer session attendance, except as specified.

This bill would authorize the governing board of a school district to authorize a pupil, upon the recommendation from a community college dean of a career technical education department or other appropriate community college career technical education administrator, and with parental consent, to attend a community college during any session or term as a special part-time or full-time student and to undertake one or more courses of career technical education offered at the community college.

This bill also would authorize the governing board of a community college district to enter into a formal partnership with a school district or school districts located within its immediate service area to allow secondary school pupils to attend a community college if those pupils have exhausted all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at the high school of attendance, adult education program, continuation school, regional occupational center or program, or any other programs offered by the governing board of the school district, and if those pupils may benefit from advanced scholastic, career-technical, or vocational courses, courses in basic skills remediation, preparation for the high school exit examination, or English as a 2nd language, and courses designed to prevent pupils from dropping out of high school.

The bill would require the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified. The bill would require a community college district and a school district, as a condition of, and before adopting, a partnership agreement, to take testimony from the public and approve or disapprove the proposed partnership agreement at a regularly scheduled open public hearing of their respective governing boards. The bill would require, for each partnership entered into under the bill, the affected community college district and school district to file an annual report, containing specified data, with the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. The bill would prohibit a community college district from receiving a state allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which a school district has been, or will be, paid.

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) Campuses of the California Community Colleges are located
throughout California and provide an educational resource for all
communities.

(b) Existing law allows certain high school pupils to take classes
at community colleges. These pupils are known as special-admits
and the programs in which they participate are known as concurrent
enrollment programs. The main target of these programs is
advanced education and the work completed in them is primarily
defined as college-level work.

(c) Existing law imposes strict limits on concurrent enrollment
programs. Only 5 percent of the pupils in any high school class
may enroll in a community college during summer sessions. In
addition, the types of classes pupils may take pursuant to these
programs are generally limited to advanced education classes.

(d) A serious abuse of concurrent enrollment programs by a few
school districts and community college districts several years ago
resulted in statutory reform and restrictions on this type of
enrollment.

(e) The current restrictions inhibit the ability of school districts
and their pupils to make maximum use of community college
facilities and opportunities. The time has come to encourage and
expand these valuable programs, but with appropriate statutory
prohibitions to guard against a repeat of the abuses of the past.

(f) Allowing high school pupils to take community college
courses could provide benefits to pupils and to the state in
numerous ways, including more opportunities for advanced
scholastic work, career-technical partnerships and coursework,
basic skills remediation, preparation for the high school exit
examination, English as a second language, and dropout prevention.

(g) Exposure to college classes and the college environment
while in high school improves college participation rates.

(h) Concurrent enrollment saves money for both the state and
the pupils and provides for more effective use of facilities.

SEC. 2.  

Section 48800 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

48800.  

(a) The governing board of a school district may
determine which pupils would benefit from advanced scholastic
or vocational work. The intent of this section is to provide
educational enrichment opportunities for a limited number of
eligible pupils, rather than to reduce current course requirements
of elementary and secondary schools, and also to help ensure a
smoother transition from high school to college for pupils by
providing them with greater exposure to the collegiate atmosphere.
The governing board begin insert of a school district end insert may authorize those
pupils, upon recommendation of the principal of the pupil’s school
of attendance, and with parental consent, to attend a community
college during any session or term as special part-time or full-time
students and to undertake one or more courses of instruction offered
at the community college level.

(b) If the governing board begin insert of a school district end insert denies a request
for a special part-time or full-time enrollment at a community
college for any session or term for a pupil who is identified as
highly gifted, the governing board begin insert of the school district end insert shall issue
its written recommendation and the reasons for the denial within
60 days. The written recommendation and denial shall be issued
at the next regularly scheduled board meeting that falls at least 30
days after the request has been submitted.

begin insert

(c) The governing board of a school district may authorize a
pupil, upon the recommendation from a community college dean
of a career technical education department or other appropriate
community college career technical education administrator, and
with parental consent, to attend a community college during any
session or term as a special part-time or full-time student and to
undertake one or more courses of career technical education
offered at the community college.

end insert begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  A pupil shall receive begin insert community college and high school end insert
credit for community college courses that he or she completes at
the level determined appropriate by the governing boards of the
school district and community college district.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  (1) The principal of a school may recommend a pupil for
community college summer session only if that pupil meets begin delete all end delete
begin insert both end insert of the following criteria:

(A) Demonstrates adequate preparation in the discipline to be
studied.

(B) Exhausts all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course,
if any, at his or her school of attendance.

(2) For any particular grade level, a principal shall not
recommend for community college summer session attendance
more than 5 percent of the total number of pupils who completed
that grade immediately begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert the time of recommendation.

(3) A high school pupil recommended by his or her principal
for enrollment in a course shall not be included in the 5-percent
limitation of pupils allowed to be recommended pursuant to
paragraph (2) if the course in which the pupil is enrolled meets
one of the criterion listed in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive,
and the high school principal who recommends the pupil for
enrollment provides the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges, upon the request of that office, with the data required
for purposes of paragraph (4).

(A) The course is a lower division, college-level course for
credit that is designated as part of the Intersegmental General
Education Transfer Curriculum or applies toward the general
education breadth requirements of the California State University.

(B) The course is a college-level, occupational course for credit
assigned a priority code of “A,” “B,” or “C,” pursuant to the
Student Accountability Model, as defined by the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges and reported in the management
information system, and the course is part of a sequence of
vocational or career technical education courses leading to a degree
or certificate in the subject area covered by the sequence.

(C) The course is necessary to assist a pupil who has not passed
the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), does
not offer college credit in English language arts or mathematics,
and the pupil meets both of the following requirements:

(i) The pupil is in his or her senior year of high school.

(ii) The pupil has completed all other graduation requirements
begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert the end of his or her senior year, or will complete
all remaining graduation requirements during a community college
summer session, which he or she is recommended to enroll in,
following his or her senior year of high school.

(4) On or before March 1 of each year, the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges shall report to the Department of
Finance the number of pupils recommended pursuant to paragraph
(3) who enroll in community college summer session courses and
who receive a passing grade. The information in this report may
be submitted with the report required by subdivision (c) of Section
76002.

(5) The Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges shall not include enrollment growth attributable to
paragraph (3) as part of its annual budget request for the California
Community Colleges.

(6) Notwithstanding Article 3 (commencing with Section 33050)
of Chapter 1 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2, compliance with
this subdivision shall not be waived.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  Paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subdivision begin delete (d) end delete begin insert (e) end insert shall
become inoperative on January 1, begin delete 2014 end delete begin insert 2017 end insert .

SEC. 3.  

Section 48803 is added to the Education Code, to read:

48803.  

(a) (1) The governing board of a community college
district may enter into a formal partnership with a school district
or school districts located within its immediate service area in
order to provide secondary school pupils who have exhausted all
opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at the high school
of attendance, adult education program, continuation school,
regional occupational center or program, or any other programs
offered by the governing board of the school district with the
opportunity to benefit from advanced scholastic, career-technical,
or vocational courses, courses in basic skills remediation,
preparation for the high school exit examination, or English as a
second language, and courses designed to prevent pupils from
dropping out of high school. A secondary school pupil in a district
subject to a formal partnership, upon notification of the principal
of the pupil’s school of attendance that the pupil has exhausted all
opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at the high school
of attendance, adult education program, continuation school,
regional occupational center or program, or any other program
offered by the governing board of the school district, and with
parental consent if the pupil is under 18 years of age, may attend
a community college during any session or term as a special
part-time or full-time student.

(2) A participating community college district shall adopt a
partnership agreement with each school district partner. The
partnership agreement shall be approved by the governing board
of the community college district and the governing board of the
school district. As a condition of, and before adopting, a partnership
agreement, a community college district and a school district, at
a regularly scheduled open public hearing of their respective
governing boards, shall take testimony from the public and approve
or disapprove the proposed partnership agreement.

(3) (A) The partnership agreement shall outline the terms of
the partnership and may include, but not necessarily be limited to,
the scope, nature, and schedule of courses offered, the academic
readiness of pupils that is necessary for them to benefit from the
courses offered, and the ability of pupils to benefit from those
courses. The partnership agreement may establish protocols for
information sharing and joint facilities use.

(B) The partnership agreement shall identify a point of contact
for the participating community college district and each school
district partner, and require each participating community college
and high school to identify a point of contact at that community
college and high school, respectively.

(C) A copy of the partnership agreement shall be filed with the
department and with the Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges before the start of a program authorized by
this article.

(4) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section, to
provide a smoother transition from high school to college for pupils
by providing them with greater exposure to the collegiate
atmosphere and to maximize the educational opportunities available
to California’s secondary school pupils by encouraging programs
and partnerships between school districts and community college
districts, including advanced scholastic, vocational, and
career-technical coursework, summer school opportunities, and
dropout intervention.

(5) A community college district shall not provide physical
education course opportunities to secondary school pupils pursuant
to this section.

(6) A pupil shall receive community college and high school
credit for community college courses that he or she completes at
the level determined to be appropriate by the governing boards of
the school district and the community college district pursuant to
the partnership agreement as described in paragraph (2).

(b) (1) A community college district shall not receive a state
allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which
a school district has been, or shall be, paid an allowance or
apportionment.

(2) The attendance of a pupil at a community college as a special
part-time or full-time student pursuant to this section is authorized
attendance for which the community college shall be credited or
reimbursed pursuant to Section 48802 or 76002, provided that no
school district has received reimbursement for the same
instructional activity. Credit for courses completed shall be at the
level determined to be appropriate by the governing boards of the
school district and the community college district pursuant to the
partnership agreement as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a).

(c) A participating high school may monitor the progress of its
pupils attending a community college under this section, and may
obtain the pupils’ records from the community college district to
do so.

(d) For purposes of this section, a special part-time student may
enroll in up to, and including, 11 units per semester, or the
equivalent thereof, at the community college he or she attends.

(e) Community college districts and school districts that enter
into a partnership pursuant to this section shall be exempt from
concurrent enrollment provisions pursuant to subdivisions (a) and
(b) of, and paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (e) of, Section
48800, if the governing board of the community college district
determines that enrollment of secondary school pupils will not
significantly displace regularly admitted students.

(f) (1) For each partnership entered into pursuant to this section,
the affected community college district and school district shall
report annually to the Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges all of the following information:

(A) The total number of secondary school pupils enrolled in
each program, classified by the school district.

(B) The total number of successful course completions of
secondary school pupils enrolled in each program, classified by
the school district.

(C) The total number of successful course completions of
students in courses equivalent to those courses tracked under
subparagraph (B) in the general community college curriculum.

(2) The annual report required by this subdivision shall also be
transmitted to all of the following:

(A) The Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the
Government Code.

(B) The Director of Finance.

(C) The Superintendent.

(D) The governing board of each participating community
college district.

(E) The governing board of each participating school district.