Copyright© 2001 by School Services of California, Inc.

Volume 14                   For Publication Date: December 21, 2001             No. 26

The Time Has Come to Modify The Fifty Percent Law

The "50 percent law" is a statute under the Education Code that requires California community colleges to spend at least fifty percent of their general fund budget on classroom instructors. This statute, which is also referred to as the Current Expense of Education, was added to the Education Code (Section 84362) in 1961 when California community colleges were still called junior colleges and came under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Education (K-12).

In 1964, the California Community College Board of Governors was established and the community college system cut its ties to the K-12 system. But did they really? Many of the statutes in the Education Code that govern K-12 schools are also applied to community colleges, the fifty percent law is an example of a statute that followed the community colleges when they became their own higher education system.

In a nutshell, the law as originally envisioned was intended to apply to K-12 schools. It was intended to ensure that adequate resources were committed to classroom instruction. K-12 teachers are in the classroom virtually five days a week providing instruction to children whose attendance is mandated by law. Community college instructors in general do not spend five days a week providing instruction or a minimum of 30 hours of instruction like K-12 teachers. Community college faculties spend a great deal of their time holding office hours, developing curricula and counseling students. In addition, community colleges have shared governance, which means everyone participates in decisions for the district. This requires faculty to have release time to serve on committees and this time is not counted as part of the fifty percent law. Further, community colleges provide instruction to adults (average age is 27), and are considered to be institutions of higher education.

The California community colleges are the only higher education institutions in the state and the United States that must comply with a fifty percent requirement for the salary of classroom instruction. In fact, according to the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), Fiscal Profiles 2000, California community colleges currently allocate more than 69% of their total expenditures to instruction and instructional services. By contrast, The University of California spends approximately 41% of their revenue on instruction and instructional services and the California State University spends a similar amount.

In addition, community colleges currently spend approximately 85% of their revenue on salaries and benefits for all employees. The collective bargaining process ensures that classroom instructors are protected.

First, the law does not accurately reflect the broad picture of instructional services within the community college system. For example, counselors and librarians are defined in AB 1725 as instruction; they are also included in a district’s 75/25 ratio. However, they are not counted on the "right side" of the fifty percent law. At a minimum, the law needs to be modified to include counselors and librarians without expanding the fifty percent requirement to 55 or 60 percent.

Second, the law needs to be changed to not only accurately reflect a true picture of instructional services but also to give local districts the needed flexibility during the current budget restraints the colleges will be facing in 2002-03. A study conducted by the California State Auditor’s Office indicated that six out of ten community college districts did not meet the requirements of the fifty percent law in 1999.

Obviously, faculty unions and organizations would oppose any proposed changes to the law. In addition, the Chancellor’s Office and some administrators are not supportive of any changes to the law, at this time. Their concerns center on the potential conflict that could occur in the Legislature if legislation was introduced to modify the law. Some would rather delay a policy discussion on this issue in order to concentrate on the system’s efforts on securing adequate resources in 2002-03.

On the other hand, strong arguments can be made that this is not an issue about spending less than fifty percent of a districts revenue in the classroom, but rather treating California community colleges more like higher education institutions than K-12.

The time has come for change.