Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: January 19, 2007             No. 2

Why Every Community College District
Should Be Mindful of Assembly Bill 318 

Assembly Bill 318 (Chapter 50/2006) authored by Assembly Member Dymally (D-Compton) is a landmark piece of legislation that has changed the face of California Community Colleges and community college accreditation issues. 

When Compton Community College’s accreditation was terminated on August 23, 2006, it became the first public community college in the nation to lose accreditation. In an effort to sustain the educational opportunities of the students who have been enrolled at Compton Community College, Assembly Member Dymally introduced this piece of legislation. 

Assembly Bill (AB) 318 amends specific Education Code sections to sustain the offering of educational programs and supportive services to students enrolled formerly at Compton Community College once the College’s accreditation was terminated by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). 

AB 318 identifies specific provisions that allowed the Compton Community College District to enter into a contract with a  partner district to preserve and maintain accredited college educational programs and supportive services, including federal financial aid, on the Compton campus for the students of Compton Community College. The bill further requires that the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) conduct a fraud audit, produce a comprehensive assessment, and prepare a recovery plan for Compton Community College as part of state intervention. 

AB 318, as an urgency measure, created the first fiscal bailout for a California community college. AB 318 provides a $30 million line of credit from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to Compton CCD. The line of credit is specified in the bill not as borrowing, but instead constitutes an advance payment of apportionments subject to repayment with interest by Compton CCD and would be used for activities related to the provision of continuing educational programs and services to students by that district and the partnering college in the absence of accreditation. The state-appointed Special Trustee will administer the funds. 

On June 30, 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 318 into law as an urgency statute, and it took effect immediately to preserve educational access for students and protect the welfare of employees at Compton CCD. Under AB 318 the Compton Community College District was to enter into a contractual agreement (through an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the El Camino Community College District (partner district El Camino CCD) to ensure that the campus remained open and available to provide accredited academic and vocational programs to students. On August 24, 2006, El Camino CCD and the Compton CCD entered into such a Memorandum of Understanding. According to the MOU, the following goals shall be achieved: 

• “Provide the students and residents of Compton with access to accredited community college programs and services without interruption and in a way that minimizes the disruption students will experience.
• Specify the various rights and responsibilities of each part in providing those programs and services.
• Create the conditions under which Compton will have a genuine opportunity to re-establish its accreditation and regain its independence as an autonomous institution.
• Build effective, mutually respectful relationships between and among the faculty, staff and administrators of El Camino and Compton.”

With the loss of accreditation, Compton College no longer exists and, under AB 318, the El Camino CCD as the partner district established the former Compton Community College as an educational center. Compton Community College is now know as “El Camino Community College Compton Community Educational Center,” also known as “El Camino College Compton Center.” 

While, El Camino and Compton express excitement in working together, there are details of the MOU that make this relationship somewhat challenging.  For example, the current MOU is for one year—from August 24, 2006, to June 30, 2007, provided that the parties can negotiate a comprehensive agreement regarding the continued operation of the El Camino College Compton Center for up to five years. The MOU asserts that the negotiations to put forth a new contract must be completed by December 31, 2006. However, at the El Camino CCD’s December Board meeting, the El Camino CCD Board members expressed concern with the partnership, and on a split vote of 2-2 did not approve the new comprehensive agreement. The MOU also allows either party to initiate a termination of the contract by giving 90 days written notice to the other party and to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.   

El Camino College President Dr. Tom Fallo and Special Trustee for Compton Tom Henry are continuing to work on this issue and El Camino CCD will bring the issue back to their Board at the January 22, 2007, meeting. 

The latest developments for the Compton Community College District raise some questions. First, under AB 318, a fraud audit was to be submitted by end of October 2006, but that audit has been delayed. We have been told the audit is forthcoming. What will be the stance of the El Camino CCD board once they have examined the fraud audit report? What will happen to the Compton programs if the El Camino Board does not vote to support the five-year contract? At its January meeting of the Board of Governors, the Special Trustee for Compton CCD and the Chancellor indicated that they are currently pursuing other options for the Center in the unfortunate event that the El Camino CCD board does not approve the partnership.   

AB 318 sets a definitive goal of a recovery process whereby Compton Community College will be able to reapply for accreditation and regain its autonomy. We are hopeful that El Camino CCD will be allowed to continue to assist Compton.

With the historic magnitude and level of complexity of this issue, this is a first in a series of articles that will be focused on Compton CCD and the partnership. Compton CCD may not be the only district with fiscal insolvency problems; therefore, it is important that every California community college district review and understand AB 318. 

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.