BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1451
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1451 (Holden) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
[Note: This bill was double-referred to the Assembly Higher
Education Committee and was heard by that committee as it
relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT : Public schools: concurrent enrollment in secondary
school and community college
SUMMARY : Authorizes the governing board of a community college
district to enter into a formal concurrent enrollment
partnership with a high school district located within its
immediate service area, with the goals of developing seamless
pathways from high school to community college career technical
education (CTE) programs and/or preparation for transfer,
helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness,
improving high school graduation rates, reducing community
college remediation rates, and removing certain restrictions on
concurrent enrollment. Specifically, this bill :
1)Generally finds and declares that concurrent enrollment
provides important educational opportunities for high school
pupils, increases college participation rates, improves the
level of preparation of pupils in the area of CTE, saves money
for both the state and the students, and provides for more
effective use of facilities; additionally finds that the
existing limits on concurrent enrollment programs inhibit the
ability of school districts and their students to make maximum
use of California Community Colleges (CCC).
2)Authorizes high school districts and community college
districts to enter into partnerships for the purpose of
expanding opportunities for concurrent enrollment.
3)Specifies that 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; and, the
agreement may establish protocols for information sharing,
joint facilities use, and parent consent for pupils.
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4)Specifies that the agreement shall identify a point of contact
for the participating school district and community college
district; and, copies of the agreement must be filed with the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Chancellor of the
CCC before the start of a program pursuant to this measure.
5)Requires the governing boards of the high school district(s)
and college district, prior to adopting a partnership
agreement, to take testimony from the public on the proposed
agreement at a regularly scheduled meeting.
6)Specifies that a pupil concurrently enrolled pursuant to a
partnership 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.
7)Exempts courses that are necessary in addressing deficiencies
in English language arts or mathematics for pupils who have
not demonstrated college-readiness on an Early Assessment
Program assessment or a successor common core aligned
assessment from the 5% cap on concurrent enrollment.
8)Specifies that a community college district shall not provide
physical education course opportunities to secondary school
pupils, as specified.
9)Specifies that 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.
10)Authorizes a participating high school to monitor the
progress of its pupils attending a community college and to
obtain the pupil's records from the community college district
to do so.
11)Requires that for each agreement entered into, the affected
community college district and school district(s) shall report
annually to the California Community Colleges Office of the
Chancellor all of the following information:
a) The total number of secondary school pupils enrolled in
each program, classified by the school district;
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b) The total number of successful course completions of
secondary school pupils enrolled in each program,
classified by the school district; and,
c) The total number of successful course completions of
students in courses equivalent to those courses tracked, as
specified, in the general community college curriculum.
12)Specifies the annual report shall also be transmitted to all
of the following:
a) The Legislature;
b) The Director of Finance; and,
c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction.
13)Exempts pupils attending a middle or early college high
school and participants of the concurrent enrollment
partnership program from the requirement that concurrently
enrolled pupils be assigned lower priority in order to ensure
they do not displace regularly admitted students.
14)Specifies that a community college district district may
limit enrollment in a community college course solely to 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:
a) The community college course is offered by a middle or
early college high school; or
b) The community college course is offered pursuant to a
partnership agreement.
15)Specifies that for purposes of allowance and apportionments
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 full-time equivalent
students (FTES) attributable to the attendance of eligible
high school pupils unless the high school districts has been
or will be paid an apportionment for that instructional
activity.
16)Allows a community college district to allow a pupil
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attending a middle or early college high school or a pupil
participating in a partnership agreement 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:
a) The units constitute no more than four community college
courses per term; or
b) The units are part of an academic program offered at the
middle or early college high school that is designed to
allow students to earn enough credit to graduate with an
associate's degree or CTE certificate, or are part of a
partnership agreement.
17)Authorizes the governing board of a community college
district participating in a partnership agreement, in whole or
in part, to exempt special part-time or full-time students
taking up to a maximum of 15 units per term from the fee
requirements, as specified.
18)Repeals the prohibition against the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges from including in its annual
budget request the concurrent enrollment of pupils who are
exempt from the 5% enrollment cap.
19)Reinstates until January 1, 2017 the following provisions
that become inoperative on January 1, 2014:
a) Specified exemptions from the 5% cap on concurrent
enrollment; and
b) An annual reporting requirement required of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
EXISTING LAW
1)Authorizes school district governing boards to permit a pupil
to concurrently attend a community college and take courses
for credit during any session or term as a part-time or
full-time student upon a determination that the pupil would
benefit from advanced academic or vocational work and with the
recommendation of the principal of the pupil's school of
attendance and consent of the pupil's parent.
2)Requires school district governing boards, if a request for
concurrent enrollment is denied, to provide in writing its
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reasons for the denial within 60 days and requires the
governing board to issue the written recommendation and denial
at its next regularly scheduled board meeting that falls at
least 30 days after the request was submitted.
3)Authorizes a principal to recommend a pupil for a community
college summer session only if the pupil demonstrates adequate
preparation in the discipline to be studied and has exhausted
all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course, if any,
at his or her school of attendance; or if the course is
necessary to assist a pupil who has not passed the California
High School Exit Examination.
4)Caps the number of pupils who can be recommend for enrollment
in a community college summer session to 5% of the enrollment
in each grade level.
5)Authorizes concurrent enrollment through middle college high
schools or early college high school, which blend high school
and college education into a coherent educational program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Concurrent enrollment provides opportunities for
high school pupils to enroll in community college courses and
earn college credit if a school district determines that the
pupil would benefit from the opportunity. It is often used to
take advanced placement, honors courses, and other advanced
courses (such as the second or third year of a foreign language)
that are not offered at the high school.
This bill expands opportunities for concurrent enrollment by
exempting from the 5% enrollment cap any course for
career-technical education, preparation for transfer, improving
high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils
achieve college and career readiness. In addition, the bill
provides that a concurrently enrolled pupil who successfully
completes a course may receive both high school and college
credit for that course.
Arguments in support. According to the author's office, studies
have shown that concurrent enrollment is associated with an
increased likelihood of going to college, higher college grade
point averages, higher college completion rates, and shorter
time-to-graduation. In addition, the author's office notes that
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current law is silent on whether a concurrently enrolled pupil
can receive high school as well as college credit for a
successfully completed course. This bill specifically permits
dual credit. The ability to "kill two birds with one stone" may
increase demand for concurrent enrollment, because a pupil will
not have to choose between a course for college credit and a
course that may be needed for high school graduation or to meet
"a-g" requirements.
When is a high school pupil not a high school pupil? Existing
law provides various assurances to all K-12 pupils, which
include the right to a free public education taught by
credentialed teachers who have been background-checked. These
assurances do not extend to high school pupils for courses taken
while they are concurrently enrolled in a community college for
college credit. The community college courses may be taught by
non-credentialed faculty who have not submitted to a background
check. In addition, while concurrently enrolled students are
exempt from community college course fees, they may be required
to purchase textbooks and pay other fees. These provisions
apply only to students who are concurrently enrolled for college
credit.
This bill expands existing concurrent enrollment provisions by
creating a mechanism through which community college faculty can
teach courses to high school pupils for high school credit as
well as college credit. The bill specifically provides for the
teaching of college courses that are available only to high
school pupils, if they are taught on a high school campus.
Moreover, the bill requires that, in order to be closed to only
high school pupils, a concurrent enrollment course must "not
otherwise [be] offered at the high school." This means that
high schools must offer certain courses exclusively through a
partnership, leaving pupils who want to enroll in such courses
no alternative but to be concurrently enrolled.
These pupils, who in every other respect are high school pupils
taking a course for high school credit, could be taught by
non-credentialed teachers who have not been background-checked,
and could be required to purchase their own textbooks and
assessed other fees, such as a lab fee. To prevent this, staff
recommends that the bill be amended to provide that (1) pupils
enrolled in the courses for high school credit cannot be
assessed any fees not otherwise permitted by law and (2) high
school credit cannot be earned through concurrent enrollment in
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a course that is not taught by a credentialed teacher.
The first recommended amendment protects the constitutional
guarantee of a free public education and provides guidance to
districts on which fees are allowable and which are not. The
second recommended amendment reflects the difference between
high school teachers and community college faculty. College
faculty have subject matter expertise and experience in teaching
adults. However, they do not necessarily have the pedagogical
training and experience to be effective teachers of high school
students. In addition, a teacher must be certificated in order
to meet the federal definition of a "Highly Qualified Teacher."
The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to:
Measure the extent to which all students have highly
qualified teachers, particularly minority and disadvantaged
students;
Adopt goals and plans to ensure all teachers are highly
qualified; and
Publicly report plans and progress in meeting teacher
quality goals.
Systematically using community college faculty to teach courses
for high school credit violates these requirements.
Related legislation. There have been many bills introduced in
the last several years that address concurrent enrollment and
the 5% cap, including the following:
AB 160 (Portantino, 2011), which was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee Suspense file, would have removed
certain restrictions on concurrent enrollment and
authorized school districts to enter into partnerships with
community college districts to provide high school pupils
opportunities for advanced scholastic work, career
technical or other coursework at CCC campuses.
AB 230 (Carter), Chapter 50, Statutes of 2011, exempted
a pupil attending a middle college high school from the
requirement that community college governing boards assign
a low enrollment priority to concurrent enrollment students
if that pupil is seeking to enroll in a community college
course that is required for the pupil's middle college high
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school program.
SB 1303 (Runner), Chapter 648, Statutes of 2006,
exempted from the specified 5% cap on CCC summer session
enrollment, a pupil recommended by his or her principal if
the pupil met specified criteria.
AB 1540 (Hagman), which is pending in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, authorizes the creation of
concurrent enrollment partnerships for computer science
courses.
AB 2352 (Chesbro), which is pending in the Assembly
Higher Education Committee, removes early and middle
college high school students concurrently enrolled at a
community college from receiving low priority admission
status.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California State University
Carpenteria Unified School District
Community College League of California
Rural County Representative of California
San Diego Unified School District
Santa Barbara City College
Numerous individuals
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087