Amended in Assembly August 4, 2014

Amended in Senate May 27, 2014

Amended in Senate May 1, 2014

Amended in Senate April 10, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1369

Introduced by Senator Block

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section 78214 of, to amend, renumber, and add Section 84850 of, to amend the heading of Article 6 (commencing with Section 84850) of Chapter 5 of Part 50 of Division 7 of Title 3 of, and to add Section 84852 to, the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1369, as amended, Block. Community colleges: Disability Services Program.

(1) 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. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that the public postsecondary institutions request, and the state provide, through the state budget process, funds to cover the actual cost of providing services and instruction, consistent with specified principles, to disabled students in their respective postsecondary institutions.

Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services provided to disabled students by community colleges for state-funded services. Existing law requires these regulations to provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost, as defined, of providing specialized support services or instruction, or both, to disabled students enrolled in state-supported educational programs or courses.

This bill would recast these requirements as the Disability Services Program and would use the term “students with disabilities” instead of disabled students. The bill would instead require the regulations adopted by the board of governors to provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost, as modified by the bill, of providing students with disabilities enrolled in state-supported educational programs operated by community college districts with academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services, as appropriate, in compliance with all applicable requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws. In utilizing funds apportioned to a community college district, the bill would require the district to give priority to ensuring that requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws have been satisfied with respect to students with disabilities who enroll for specified purposes. The bill would authorize a district to use these funds to provide other specialized services or to offer educational assistance courses for students with disabilities so long as specified conditions are met. The bill would also prohibit a district from using these funds to provide services for students with disabilities participating in classes, courses, or educational programs that do not receive state support. As a condition of receiving these funds, the bill would require a district to cooperate in the conduct of program evaluations, as prescribed, and to promptly take any corrective action required by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges as a result of the program evaluations. The bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to request funding for the Disability Services Program that is sufficient to carry out the requirements of the program on a statewide basis in the annual budget request to the Governor and the Legislature.

(2) Existing law requires all participating districts, with the assistance of the chancellor, to establish and maintain institutional research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success and Support Program implemented under the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012. Existing law requires the research to include certain metrics including, among others, disaggregated data by ethnicity, gender, disability, age, and socioeconomic status, to the extent the information is available.

This bill would require a district to report a student participating in the Student Success and Support Program as having a disability if the student participates in the Disability Services Program.

To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 78214 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

78214.  

(a) All participating districts shall, with the assistance
of the chancellor, establish and maintain institutional research to
evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success and Support
Program described by this article and of any other programs or
services designed to facilitate students’ completion of their
educational goals and courses of study.

(b) The metrics for this research shall include, but not be limited
to:

(1) Prior educational experience, including transcripts when
appropriate, as determined by the chancellor.

(2) Educational goals and courses of study.

(3) Criteria for exemption from orientation, assessment, or
required counseling or advisement, if applicable.

(4) Need for financial assistance.

(5) (A) Disaggregated data by ethnicity, gender, disability, age,
and socioeconomic status, to the extent this information is
available.

(B) For purposes of this paragraph, unless the chancellor
establishes a different approach for reporting disability status, a
district shall report a student as having a disability if the student
participates in the Disability Services Program established pursuant
to Article 6 (commencing with Section 84850) of Chapter 5 of
Part 50.

(6) Academic performance, such as the completion of specified
unit thresholds, success in basic skills courses, grade point average,
course completion outcomes, transfer readiness, and degree and
certificate completion.

(7) Any additional information that the chancellor finds
appropriate.

(c) The evaluation provided for by this section shall include an
assessment of the effectiveness of the programs and services in
attaining at least the following objectives:

(1) Helping students to define their academic and career goals
and declare a course of study.

(2) Assisting institutions in the assessment of students’
educational needs and valid course placement.

(3) Helping support students’ successful course completion and
goal attainment.

(4) Matching institutional resources with students’ educational
needs.

SEC. 2.  

The heading of Article 6 (commencing with Section
84850) of Chapter 5 of Part 50 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code is amended to read:

 

Article 6.  The Disability Services Program

 

SEC. 3.  

Section 84850 of the Education Code is amended and
renumbered to read:

84851.  

(a) The Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges shall adopt rules and regulations for the
administration and funding of educational programs and support
services to be provided to students with disabilities by community
college districts pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
67310) of Chapter 14 of Part 40. This program shall be known and
may be cited as the Disability Services Program.

(b) As used in this article, a student with a disability is a person
who is enrolled, or has been admitted and is planning to enroll, in
one or more courses at a community college and has been verified
as being an individual with a disability within the meaning of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 12101 et seq.).

(c) (1) The regulations adopted by the board of governors shall
provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college
district to offset the direct excess cost, as defined in paragraph (2),
of providing students with disabilities enrolled in state-supported
educational programs operated by community college districts
with academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services, as
appropriate, in compliance with all applicable requirements of
federal and state nondiscrimination laws, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:

(A) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.).

(B) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
(29 U.S.C. Sec. 794).

(C) Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 11135) of Chapter
1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(D) The Equity in Higher Education Act (Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 66250) of Part 40 of Division 5).

(2) Direct excess costs are those actual fixed, variable, and
one-time costs, as defined in Section 67311, that exceed the
combined total of the following:

(A) The indirect cost to the community college district of
providing facilities and support for the administration of the
Disability Services Program.

(B) The revenue derived from full-time equivalent students
enrolled in educational assistance courses for students with
disabilities.

(C) The average cost to the community college district of
providing services to nondisabled students multiplied by the
number of students served by the Disability Services Program.

(D) Any other funds for serving students with disabilities that
the district receives from federal, state, or local sources.

(d) (1) In utilizing funds provided pursuant to this section, a
community college district shall give priority to ensuring that the
requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws have
been satisfied with respect to students with disabilities who enroll
to earn degrees, career technical certificates, transfer preparation,
or career development or advancement. However, the community
college district remains responsible for complying with the
requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws with
respect to students with disabilities pursuing other educational
objectives.

(2) In addition, a community college district may also use funds
allocated pursuant to this section to provide other specialized
services or to offer educational assistance courses for students with
disabilities so long as these services or courses satisfy all of the
following conditions:

(A) They are consistent with the regulations adopted by the
board of governors.

(B) They further the goal established in Section 67310 of
promoting the independence of students with disabilities and the
maximum integration of these students with other students.

(C) They are provided in the most integrated setting possible.

(e) A community college district shall not use funds allocated
pursuant to this section to provide services for students with
disabilities participating in classes, courses, or educational
programs that do not receive state support.

(f) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this section,
each community college district shall do all of the following:

(1) The community college district shall certify that reasonable
efforts have been made to utilize all funds from federal, state, or
local sources that are available for serving students with disabilities.

(2) The community college district shall provide the
programmatic and fiscal information concerning programs and
services for students with disabilities that the regulations of the
board of governors require.

(3) The community college district shall cooperate in the conduct
of program evaluations conducted pursuant to subdivision (g) and
promptly take any corrective actions required by the chancellor as
a result of those evaluations.

(g) The board of governors shall require the chancellor to use
an amount not less than begin delete one-half end delete begin insert $300,000, or one-quarter end insert of 1
percent begin insert , whichever is less, end insert of the funds allocated begin insert annually end insert pursuant
to this section to begin delete conduct, or to end delete contract begin delete to end delete begin insert for the planning and end insert
conduct begin delete , end delete begin insert of end insert an evaluation of program effectiveness as required
pursuant to Section 67312. In addition to addressing the
requirements of Section 67312, the evaluations shall determine
whether the requirements of this article and those set forth in the
regulations adopted by the board of governors have been satisfied.
begin delete Each end delete begin insert A plan for conduct of the evaluations shall be developed by
the chancellor, in consultation with appropriate stakeholder
groups, and be ready for implementation by June 30, 2016.
Commencing in the 2016- end insert begin insert 17 fiscal year, each end insert community college
operating a program pursuant to this section shall be required to
participate in a peer-based onsite evaluation during the self-study
year of each accreditation cycle. Funds designated for program
evaluation purposes under this subdivision may be used to, among
other things, compensate and reimburse members of onsite
evaluation teams.

(h) The board of governors may authorize the chancellor,
consistent with the requirements the board may impose, to
designate up to an additional begin delete 2 end delete begin delete 1⁄2 end delete begin insert 2 end insert begin insert 3⁄4 end insert percent of the funds allocated
pursuant to this section for program development and program
accountability.

SEC. 4.  

Section 84850 is added to the Education Code, to read:

84850.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 12101 et seq.), and other federal and state nondiscrimination
laws require community college districts to ensure that students
with disabilities are not denied the benefits of, or excluded from
participating or otherwise subjected to discrimination in, any
program or activity operated by those community college districts
due to the absence of academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, or
services, as appropriate.

(b) The board of governors, the California Student Aid
Commission, and other state agencies are responsible for
distributing state and federal funding to community college
districts.

(c) As a result, the state shares the responsibility with
community college districts for ensuring that students with
disabilities are able to fully participate in and benefit from the
programs and activities operated by community college districts
in accordance with the requirements of federal and state
nondiscrimination laws.

(d) By enacting the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of
2012, the Legislature has recognized the importance of ensuring
that all students, including students with disabilities, have the
resources and support services necessary to establish and achieve
their educational goals while attending a community college.

(e) The Legislature recognizes that programmatic adjustments,
auxiliary aids, and other services may be needed in order for
students with disabilities to be able to participate in and fully
benefit from the Student Success and Support Program and that
providing these adjustments and services will result in additional
costs and workload for community college districts.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that adequate funding shall
be provided to the Disability Services Program through the annual
budget process to ensure that each community college is able to
provide students with disabilities the services needed to meet the
requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws and to
further their participation in the Student Success and Support
Program.

begin insert

(g) The board of governors needs adequate resources to oversee
the Disability Services Program evaluation and other
administrative functions specified in Section 84851, in order for
the program to meet the objectives set forth in this article. It is the
intent of the Legislature to provide adequate funding to the board
of governors through the annual budget process to enable the
board to carry out those functions.

end insert

SEC. 5.  

Section 84852 is added to the Education Code, to read:

84852.  

In its annual budget request for the California
Community Colleges to the Governor and the Legislature, the
Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges
shall request funding for the Disability Services Program sufficient
to carry out the purposes and requirements of this article on a
statewide basis.

SEC. 6.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.