7-20-07 Update on Community College Legislation

Volume 20 For Publication Date: July 20, 2007 No. 16

Update on Community College Legislation

Following is an update on community college legislation:

AB 145 (Coto): San Jose State University-National Hispanic University Collaboration
Status: Two-Year Bill—Held on Assembly Suspense File

This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University (CSU) to authorize San Jose State University and the National Hispanic University to enter into a collaboration agreement that would include outreach, transfer, joint classes for credit, other programs of education, research, and public service as the trustees and the National Hispanic University deem to be in the public interest, and requires this collaboration to include a five-year pilot program to improve participation in higher education meeting specified requirements.

AB 262 (Coto): Public Postsecondary Education: Credit Card Marketing: Regulations
Status: Senate Floor

This bill urges the Regents of the University of California (UC) and requires the Trustees of the CSU and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to (1) annually direct each of their campuses to disclose specified information regarding on-campus credit card marketing activities, and (2) prohibits banks and other commercial entities from offering gifts to students in exchange for completing credit card applications. The bill also extends the sunset on provisions outlining the regulatory adoption authority and process of the CSU Trustees from 2008 to 2013 and deletes the requirement that the CSU be subject to Department of General Services approval for the acquisition or replacement of motor vehicles.

AB 483 (Salas): School Facilities Contracting
Status: Senate Floor

This bill authorizes the Board of Governors of the CCC to conduct a study of the public contracting limits established under specified Public

Contract Codes to determine the effectiveness of these provisions for community college districts. The bill also deletes a provision requiring a

contracted evaluation from the Chancellor relating to the Economic and Workforce Development Program. This bill deletes the requirement that

the Chancellor contract for an independent evaluation of the CCC Economic and Workforce Development Program.

AB 488 (Portantino): Community Colleges: California Community Colleges Campus-Based Financial Aid Grant Program
Two-Year Bill—Held in Assembly Appropriations

This bill would establish the California Community Colleges Access Grant Program, to be administered by the Chancellor of the CCC. Under the program, grants would be made commencing with the 2008-09 academic year. The bill would authorize the Chancellor, after consultation with various community college financial aid administrators and chief student service officers, to develop initial award policies and procedures and make annual adjustments in these policies and procedures as he or she deems necessary.

AB 577 (Ruskin): Community Colleges: Open Education Resources Centers:
Foothill-DeAnza Community College District
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

The bill would authorize the Board of Governors to establish, once funding becomes available, a competitive grant pilot program to provide faculty and staff from community college districts around the state with the information and methods to establish open education resources centers. The bill would define open education resources for its purposes. The bill would specify that a pilot program grant recipient be selected based upon a demonstration of its ability to accomplish specified objectives. The bill would require the Board of Governors to contract with an independent third party with expertise in this subject matter to evaluate the pilot project and submit the evaluation to the Legislature no later than two years after the pilot program is implemented.

AB 591 (Dymally): Community Colleges: Nontenure Track Temporary Faculty Employees
Status: Two-Year Bill

Existing law provides that service in professional ancillary services including, but not necessarily limited to, governance, staff development, grant writing, and advising student organizations, by persons employed under these provisions shall not be used for purposes of calculating eligibility for contract or regular status unless otherwise provided for in a collective bargaining agreement applicable to a person employed under this provision. This bill would instead provide that any person who is employed to teach adult or community college classes for less than 100% of the hours per week considered a full-time assignment for regular employees having comparable duties would be classified as a nontenure track temporary faculty employee. The bill would require that a nontenure track temporary faculty employee receive pay and benefits that are equal to those of tenured and tenure track faculty of comparable qualifications doing comparable work, as determined on a parity basis, as defined.

AB 668 (Portantino): Student Financial Aid: California Community College Student Federal and State Financial Aid Opportunity Act
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

This bill would enact the California Community College Student Federal and State Financial Aid Opportunity Act. The bill would express various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to the use of the federal Pell Grant program by students of the CCC, and would express the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of students of the CCC receiving awards from the federal Pell Grant program.

AB 767 (Walters): Student Financial Aid: Veterans and Dependents
Status: Senate Education Committee

This bill prohibits the UC, the CSU and the CCCs from charging mandatory systemwide tuition or fees to California members of the armed services who were honorably discharged and have used all of their Montgomery Bill G. I. benefits. These provisions would apply to UC only if the Regents enact it.

AB 883 (Dymally): Student Financial Aid: Assumption Program of Loans for Education: Pilot Program
Status: Two-Year Bill

This bill would establish, within Assumption Program of Loans for Education (APLE), a pilot program for loan assumption for interns and teachers who are qualified for participation under APLE and who agree to teach full time in the Compton Unified School District. The bill would require the commission, in selecting participants for this pilot program, to grant priority to applicants who are concentrating in mathematics, science, or special education, or who agree to teach full time in a school ranked in Decile 1, 2, 3, or 4 on the Academic Performance Index. The bill would authorize the assumption of up to $3,000 of the participant’s outstanding liability for each year of qualifying teaching service, up to a maximum of $12,000 of loan assumption for four consecutive years of qualifying teaching service.

AB 906 (Eng): Community Colleges: Salaries of Classroom Instructors
Status: Two-Year Bill

Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at community college campuses. An existing provision requires each community college district to expend, for payment of the salaries of classroom instructors, 50% of the district’s current expense of education, as defined. This bill would further provide that in order to encourage compliance and to determine the extent to which districts are complying with this requirement, the Chancellor shall conduct random audits of five community college districts each year.

AB 1038 (Feuer): Postsecondary Education: Student Fees
Status: Two-Year Bill

Existing law authorizes the public postsecondary education segments to require that mandatory systemwide fees, among other fees, be paid by students at these institutions. This bill would delete a provision that required the systemwide fees charged to resident undergraduate students at the UC to be reduced in the 1998-99 and 1999- 2000 fiscal years.

AB 1052 (Torrico): Preschool: Teachers: Limited-English-Proficient Children
Status: Two-Year Bill—Held on Assembly Suspense File

This bill would require the California Department of Education (CDE) to establish and implement a demonstration program that includes three counties in the state, including one county each from northern, central, and southern California, as defined. The program would provide college coursework, training, and career ladder opportunities for preschool teachers who provide instruction to limited-English-proficient children, as defined for purposes of the program. Three grants of $450,000 each would be awarded to those counties per year for three years. Institutions of higher education, early childhood educational agencies, local educational agencies, nonprofit organizations, or consortia of those entities within each participating county would be eligible to apply for and receive those grant funds. The CDE, within one year of the completion date of the program, would be required to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report that includes recommendations regarding the continuation of the program and state and federal policy changes needed to support the goals of the program.

AB 1059 (De Leon): Child Care Personnel: Prekindergarten Assumption Program of Loans for Education: Child Development Teacher and Supervisor Grant Program
Status: Two-Year Bill

This bill states the intent of the Legislature that up to 400 grants be awarded under the Child Development Teacher and Supervisor Grant Program each year, subject to available federal funds. The maximum grant levels would be increased to $3,000 for each academic year, provided the participant is enrolled in a four-year institution and $2,000 if the participant is enrolled in a community college. The bill also deletes the two academic year eligibility limitation.

AB 1168 (Jones): Social Security Numbers
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

This bill requires the Office of Privacy Protection within the Department of Consumer Affairs to establish a taskforce, which would conduct an audit of all colleges and universities in California of their use of social security numbers.

AB 1267 (Feuer): Civic Service
Status: Two-Year Bill

This bill would establish the Civic Service Loan Assumption Program under the administration of the Commission. Under the program, California residents enrolled at a campus of the UC or the CSU would be eligible to enter into an agreement for student loan assumption, to be redeemed after a qualifying period of civic service, as defined, or service as a volunteer, as defined.

AB 1305 (Charles Calderon): Community Colleges: Employment of Full-Time Faculty
Status: Two-Year Bill

This bill would require the Governing Board of each community college district, no later than December 31, 2010, to require that at least 75% of the hours of credit instruction in the district be taught by full-time instructors. The bill would require each community college district to allocate specified funds for that purpose. Because this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would prohibit the Board of Governors from waiving these provisions unless the Board of Governors finds that funds have fallen below a specified level.

AB 1329 (Houston): Student Financial Aid
Status: Two-Year Bill—Held on Assembly Suspense File

This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature relative to services provided by, and shortages of, occupational therapists. The bill would require the Trustees of the CSU, in coordination with the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), Chancellor of CCC and in consultation with stakeholder groups and organizations, to assess and discuss issues, information, and barriers relating to, and progress made in accomplishment of, the creation of additional occupational therapist training programs in a report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature by June 1, 2008. The bill would request the Regents of the UC to participate as an equal participant with the trustees in the deliberations for, and making of, the report to the Legislature.

AB 1333 (Hancock): Regents of the University of California: Retirement System
Status: Senate Education Committee

Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that the Regents of the UC provide written notice to the Legislature of any proposed changes to retirement plan benefits, employer or employee contribution rates, or actuarial assumptions affecting the University of California Retirement System, as specified. This bill would require the Regents of the UC to complete and provide independent actuarial studies for public review at least 120 days prior to a change in employer or employee contribution rates affecting the University of California Retirement System and to forward the studies to the State Controller’s Office (SCO).

AB 1343 (Mendoza): Public Postsecondary Education: Faculty and College Excellence Act
Status: Two-Year Bill—Held on Assembly Suspense File

This bill would enact the Faculty and College Excellence Act, and place that act within the Donahoe Higher Education Act. The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that at least 75% of the full-time faculty on each campus of the CSU and the CCC be tenured or tenure-track, as defined, and that all part-time and temporary faculty shall receive pay and benefits that are equal to those of tenured and tenure-track faculty of comparable qualifications doing comparable work, as determined on a pro rata basis.

AB 1413 (Portantino): Public Postsecondary Education: California State University: Trustees
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

Existing law establishes the CSU, under the administration of the Trustees of the CSU, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature, as well as the intent of the Legislature, relating to executive compensation of top officials of the CSU and the ethical standards of the trustees. This bill also places limits on executive compensation when the executive officer ceases to perform his or her other duties.

AB 1423 (Davis): Community Colleges: Salary Schedules for Academic Employees
Status: Two-Year Bill

The Governing Board of each community college district is required to adopt, and cause to be printed and made available to each academic employee, a schedule of salaries to be paid. This bill would require all community college district salary schedules for academic employees to be uniform in application and effect. Because the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

AB 1525 (Cook): Private Postsecondary Education
Status: Chapter 67, Statutes of 2007

The bill would authorize the Director of Consumer Affairs to enter into voluntary agreements with institutions that state that the institutions agree to comply with state statutes, rules, and regulations applicable to these institutions as of June 30, 2007. The bill would require institutions to disclose to their current and prospective students in writing, within 60 days of the effective date of the bill, whether they entered into, or declined to enter into, a voluntary agreement with the director.

AB 1540 (Bass): Student Financial Aid: Cash for College Program
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that California students with financial need be made aware of the opportunities afforded to them through the various state and federal financial aid programs. The bill would express various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to the Cash for College Program. The bill would establish the Cash for College Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and would authorize the Commission to allocate funds for support of local Cash for College projects designed to accomplish prescribed goals. The bill would create the Cash for College Account and would continuously appropriate voluntary contributions or donations received into the account to the Commission for purposes of the program.

AB 1559 (Berryhill): Community College Fees: Consumer Protection
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

This bill would require a community college registered nursing program that elects to use a multicriteria screening process on or after January 1, 2008, to evaluate applicants for admission to nursing programs to include specified criteria relating to the academic performance, work or volunteer experience, foreign language skills, life experiences, and special circumstances of the applicant. The bill would authorize a community college registered nursing program using a multicriteria screening process to use an approved diagnostic assessment tool before, during, or after the multicriteria screening process.

AB 1578 (Leno): Foster Youth Higher Education Preparation and Support Act of 2007: California Competitive Grant Program
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee

Among other things, this bill would request community college campuses to give priority for housing to current and former foster youth. The bill would also request community college campuses that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation, and next give priority to current and former foster youth for housing that is open for occupation during the most days in the calendar year.

AB 1649 (Alarcon): University of California: Retirement Benefits
Status: Two-Year Bill—Held on Assembly Suspense File

Under existing law, the Regents of the UC are encouraged and empowered to take all steps to implement a qualified defined contribution plan for its employees. This bill would instead encourage and empower the Regents of the UC to take all steps necessary to implement a defined benefit plan for employees who do not participate in the University of California Retirement Plan. The bill would also encourage and empower the Regents of the UC to contribute to the defined benefit plan an unspecified percent of the wages, as defined, payable to these employees, or at least an amount that would normally be required to be paid for an employee to participate in Social Security, as specified.

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D. and Dave Heckler