Amended in Assembly March 25, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 6, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1451

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

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(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Hagman)

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(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Fox, Hagman, Linder, Medina, Olsen, Rodriguez, Ting, and Wilk)

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(Principal coauthor: Senator Vidak)

January 8, 2014

An act to amend Sections 48800 and 76001 of, and to add Sections 48803 and 76004 to, the Education Code, relating to public schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1451, as amended, Holden. Public schools: 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 enter into a concurrent enrollment partnership agreement with a community college district located within its immediate service area to allow pupils to attend community college. The bill would require a community college district and a school district, as a condition of, and before adopting, a concurrent enrollment partnership agreement, to take testimony from the public and approve or disapprove the proposed agreement at a regularly scheduled open public hearing of their respective governing boards. The bill would require the concurrent enrollment partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified. The bill would prohibit a school district from receiving a state allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which a community college district has been, or will be, paid an allowance or apportionment. The bill would authorize a participating high school to monitor the progress of its pupils attending a community college and to obtain the pupils’ records from a community college district to do so. The bill would require, for each concurrent enrollment partnership agreement 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 also authorize the governing board of a community college district to enter into a partnership with the governing board of a school district located within its service area with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. The bill would require the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified, and would require copies of the partnership agreement to be filed with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. begin insert The bill would authorize a community college district to limit enrollment in a community college course to solely high school pupils under specified circumstances. The bill would authorize specified high school pupils to enroll in up to 15 units if those units are required for these pupils’ partnership programs and specified circumstances are satisfied, and would authorize a community college district to exempt special part-time and full-time students taking up to a maximum of 15 units per term from specified fee requirements. end insert The bill would require, for each partnership agreement 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 also make related and conforming changes.

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 defined in statute as
special-admits and the programs in which they participate are
known as concurrent or dual 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. No more than 5 percent of the pupils in any particular
high school grade level 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) Existing law includes statutory reforms and restrictions to
prevent abuses regarding this type of enrollment.

(e) The current restrictions on concurrent enrollment inhibit the
ability of school districts and their pupils to make maximum use
of community college facilities and opportunities. By reducing
some of the restrictions on concurrent enrollment it will be possible
to expand concurrent enrollment opportunities for pupils, including
pupils working to improve their college readiness and career
technical skills.

(f) Allowing a greater and more varied segment of high school
pupils to take community college courses could provide benefits
to pupils and to the state in numerous ways, such as reducing high
school dropouts, increasing the number of community college
students who transfer and complete a degree, shortening time to
completion of educational goals, and improving the level of
preparation of pupils in the area of career-technical education.

(g) Exposure to college classes and the college experience 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 concurrent enrollment
in a community college, subject to approval of admission by the
community college district in accordance with applicable statutes
and regulations of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges. 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 experience.
The governing board of a school district may authorize those
pupils, upon recommendation of the principal of the pupil’s school
of attendance, or his or her designee, or pursuant to a concurrent
enrollment partnership agreement in accordance with Section
48803, 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 of a school district 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 of the school district 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.

(c) A pupil may receive community college and high school
credit for community college courses that he or she completes as
determined appropriate by the governing boards of the school
district and community college district.

(d) (1) The principal of a school may recommend a pupil for
community college summer session only if that pupil meets both
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 before 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 (D), 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
before 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.

(D) The course is necessary to assist to address the deficiencies
in English language arts or mathematics of a pupil who has not
demonstrated college-readiness on an Early Assessment Program
assessment or a successor common core-aligned assessment.

(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) 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.

(e) Paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (d) shall become
inoperative on January 1, 2017.

SEC. 3.  

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

48803.  

(a) (1) The governing board of a school district may
enter into a concurrent enrollment partnership agreement with the
governing board of a community college district located within its
immediate service area, with the goal of developing a seamless
pathway from high school to community college for
career-technical education or preparation for transfer, improving
high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve
college and career readiness.

(2) A participating school district may adopt a concurrent
enrollment partnership agreement with a community college district
partner that is approved by the governing boards of both districts.
As a condition of, and before adopting, a concurrent enrollment
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 concurrent enrollment
partnership agreement.

(3) (A) The concurrent enrollment 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, and the criteria to assess the ability of pupils to benefit
from those courses. The concurrent enrollment partnership
agreement may establish protocols for information sharing, joint
facilities use, and parental consent for pupils.

(B) The concurrent enrollment partnership agreement shall
identify a point of contact for the participating school district and
community college district.

(C) Copies of the concurrent enrollment partnership agreement
shall be filed with the Superintendent and the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges before the start of a program
authorized by this article.

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

(5) A pupil may receive community college and high school
credit for community college courses that he or she completes, as
determined to be appropriate by the governing boards of the school
district and the community college district.

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

(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) (1) For each concurrent enrollment partnership agreement
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.

SEC. 4.  

Section 76001 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

76001.  

(a) The governing board of a community college district
may admit to any community college under its jurisdiction as a
special part-time or full-time student in any session or term any
student who is eligible to attend community college pursuant to
Section 48800 or 48800.5.

(b) If the governing board denies a request for a special part-time
or full-time enrollment at a community college for a pupil who is
identified as highly gifted, the board shall record its findings and
the reasons for denial of the request in writing 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.

(c) 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 Sections 48802 and 76002. Credit for
courses completed shall be at the level determined to be appropriate
by the school district and community college district governing
boards.

(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.

(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the governing board
of a community college district shall assign a low enrollment
priority to special part-time or full-time students described in
subdivision (a) in order to ensure that these students do not displace
regularly admitted students.

(2) This subdivision does not apply to a student attending a
middle college high school as described in Section 11300, an early
college high school as described in Section 11302, or pursuant to
a concurrent enrollment partnership agreement as described in
Section 48803, if the student is seeking to enroll in a community
college course that is required for the student’s middle college
high school, early college high school, or concurrent enrollment
partnership program.

SEC. 5.  

Section 76004 is added to the Education Code, to read:

76004.  

(a) (1) The governing board of a community college
district may enter into a partnership with the governing board of
a school district located within its service area with the goal of
developing seamless pathways from high school to community
college for career technical education or preparation for transfer,
improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school
pupils achieve college and career readiness.

(2) A participating community college district may adopt a
partnership agreement with a school district partner that is approved
by the governing boards of both districts. 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 begin insert shall end insert not necessarily be
limited to, the scope, nature, and begin delete schedule end delete begin insert listing end insert of begin insert community
college end insert courses begin insert to be end insert offered, and criteria to assess the ability of
students to benefit from those courses. The partnership agreement
may establish protocols for information sharing, joint facilities
use, and parental consent for pupils begin delete who end delete begin delete are under 18 years of age end delete
begin insert to enroll in community college courses end insert .

(B) The partnership agreement shall identify a point of contact
for the participating community college district and school district
partner.

(C) A copy of the partnership agreement shall be filed with the
chancellor and the Superintendent before the start of a program
authorized by this article.

(4) A community college district shall not provide physical
education course opportunities to secondary school pupils pursuant
to this section begin insert or any other course opportunities that do not assist
in the attainment of the goals listed in paragraph (1) end insert .

(5) A student may receive community college and high school
credit for community college courses that he or she completes as
determined to be appropriate by the governing boards of the
community college district and the school district.

begin insert

(6) (A) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 76002 or
any other open course provision in statute, or regulations adopted
by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges,
a community college district may limit enrollment in a community
college course to solely high school pupils if the course is offered
at a high school campus, is not otherwise offered at the high school,
and one or more of the following circumstances are satisfied:

end insert begin insert

(i) The community college course is offered by a middle college
high school as defined in Section 11300.

end insert begin insert

(ii) The community college course is offered by an early college
high school as defined in Section 11302.

end insert begin insert

(iii) The community college course is offered pursuant to a
partnership agreement established pursuant to this article.

end insert begin insert

(B) For purposes of allowances and apportionments from
Section B of the State School Fund, a community college district
conducting a closed course on a high school campus shall be
credited with additional units of FTES attributable to the
attendance of eligible high school pupils.

end insert begin insert

(7) Notwithstanding Section 48800 and subdivision (d) of Section
76001, a community college district may allow a pupil attending
a middle college high school, as defined in Section 11300, or early
college high school, as defined in Section 11302, or a pupil
participating in a partnership agreement established pursuant to
this article, to enroll in up to a maximum of 15 units if those units
are required for the pupil’s partnership program, and if either of
the following circumstances is satisfied:

end insert begin insert

(A) The units constitute no more than four community college
courses per term.

end insert begin insert

(B) The units are part of an academic program offered at the
middle college high school or the early college high school that
is designed to allow students to earn enough credit to graduate
with an associate’s degree or career technical education
certificate, or are part of a partnership agreement established
pursuant to this article.

end insert begin insert

(8) Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 76001 and
subdivision (f) of Section 76300, the governing board of a
community college district participating in a partnership agreement
established pursuant to this article may, in whole or in part, exempt
special part-time or full-time students taking up to a maximum of
15 units per term from the fee requirements in Sections 76060.5,
76140, 76223, 76300, 76350, and 79121.

end insert

(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.

(c) (1) For each partnership entered into pursuant to this section,
the affected community college district and school district shall
report annually to the chancellor all of the following information:

(A) The total number of secondary school pupils enrolled in
each partnership.

(B) The total number of community college courses enrolled in
by partnership participants.

(C) The total number and percentage of successful course
completions begin insert , end insert begin insert by course category and type, end insert of partnership
participants.

(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.