Bill Text: CA AB2532 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Community colleges: registered nursing programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-29 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [AB2532 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2532-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 25, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2532
| Introduced by Assembly Member Mathis |
February 13, 2024 |
An act to amend Section Sections 78261.3 and 78261.5 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2532, as amended, Mathis.
Community colleges: registered nursing programs.
(1) Existing law prohibits a community college district from excluding an applicant to a registered nursing program on the basis that the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district, and prohibits a community college district from implementing policies, procedures, and systems that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from a registered nursing program of that district.
This bill would repeal the latter prohibition.
Existing
(2) Existing law authorizes a community college registered nursing program, if it determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, to admit students to the program using a multicriteria screening process, a random selection process, or a blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process, as specified. Existing law requires that the criteria applied in a multicriteria screening process include consideration of the life experiences or special circumstances of an applicant, as listed. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to report annually to the Legislature and the Governor on students admitted to community college registered nursing programs through a multicriteria screening process, as provided. Existing law repeals these provisions relating to
admission to community college nursing programs on January 1, 2025.
This bill would add residing within a medically underserved area, as specified, being a resident of the community college district to the list of life experiences or special circumstances specified for consideration in a multicriteria screening process. The bill would extend operation of these provisions relating to admission to community college nursing programs until January 1, 2030.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 78261.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:78261.3.
Notwithstanding any other(a) Any community college district, irrespective of whether it participates in the program established by this article, may use any diagnostic assessment tool that is commonly used in registered nursing programs and is approved by the chancellor.
(b) If, after using an approved diagnostic assessment tool, a community college registered nursing program determines that the number of applicants to that program exceeds its capacity, the program is authorized to
may use additional multicriteria screening measures. This subdivision does not prohibit or prevent a community college registered nursing program from using an approved diagnostic assessment tool before or during a multicriteria screening process.
(c) A community college district may shall not do either of the following:
(2)Implement policies, procedures, and systems, including, but not limited to, priority registration systems, that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from a registered nursing program of that district.
SECTION 1.SEC. 2.
Section 78261.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:78261.5.
(a) A community college registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants to that program exceeds its capacity may admit students in accordance with any of the following procedures:(1) Administration of a multicriteria screening process, as authorized by Section 78261.3, in a manner that is consistent with the standards set forth in subdivision (b).
(2) A random selection process.
(3) A blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process.
(b) A community
college registered nursing program that elects, on or after January 1, 2008, to use a multicriteria screening process to evaluate applicants pursuant to this article shall apply those measures in accordance with all of the following:
(1) The criteria applied in a multicriteria screening process under this article shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Academic degrees or diplomas, or relevant certificates, held by an applicant.
(B) Grade-point average in relevant coursework.
(C) Any relevant work or volunteer experience.
(D) Life experiences or special circumstances of an applicant, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following experiences or circumstances:
(i) Disabilities.
(ii) Low family income.
(iii) First generation of family to attend college.
(iv) Need to work.
(v) Disadvantaged social or educational environment.
(vi) Difficult personal and family situations or circumstances.
(vii) Refugee or veteran status.
(viii) Residing within a medically underserved area, as listed pursuant to Section 124425 of the Health and Safety Code. Being a resident of the community college district.
(E) Proficiency or advanced level coursework in languages other than English. Credit for languages other than English shall be received for languages that are identified by the chancellor as high-frequency languages, as based on census data. These languages may include, but are not necessarily
limited to, any of the following:
(i) American Sign Language.
(ii) Arabic.
(iii) Chinese, including its various dialects.
(iv) Farsi.
(v) Russian.
(vi) Spanish.
(vii) Tagalog.
(viii) The various languages of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
(2) Additional criteria, such as a personal interview, a personal statement,
letter of recommendation, or the number of repetitions of prerequisite classes, or other criteria, as approved by the chancellor, may be used, but are not required.
(3) A community college registered nursing program using a multicriteria screening process under this article may use an approved diagnostic assessment tool, in accordance with Section 78261.3, before, during, or after the multicriteria screening process.
(4) As used in this section:
(A) “Disabilities” has the same meaning as used in Section 2626 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(B) “Disadvantaged social or educational environment” includes, but is not necessarily
limited to, the status of a student who has participated in Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS).
(C) “Grade-point average” refers to the same fixed set of required prerequisite courses that all applicants to the nursing program administering the multicriteria screening process are required to complete.
(D) “Low family income” shall be measured by a community college registered nursing program in terms of a student’s eligibility for, or receipt of, financial aid under a program that may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a fee waiver from the board of governors under Section 76300, the Cal Grant Program under Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of
Part 42 of Division 5, the federal Pell Grant program, or CalWORKs.
(E) “Need to work” means that the student is working at least part time while completing academic work that is a prerequisite for admission to the nursing program.
(5) A community college registered nursing program that uses a multicriteria screening process pursuant to this article shall report its nursing program admissions policies to the chancellor annually, in writing. The admissions policies reported under this paragraph shall include the weight given to any criteria used by the program, and shall include demographic information relating to both the persons admitted to the program and the persons of that group who successfully completed that program.
(c) The chancellor is encouraged to develop, and make available to community college registered nursing programs by July 1, 2008, a model admissions process based on this section.
(d) (1) The chancellor shall submit a report on or before March 1, 2015, and on or before each March 1 thereafter, to the Legislature and the Governor that examines and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, both of the following:
(A) The participation, retention, and completion rates in community college registered nursing programs of students admitted through a multicriteria screening process, as described in this section, disaggregated by the age, gender, ethnicity, and the language spoken at
the home of those students.
(B) Information on the annual impact, if any, the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012 had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multicriteria screening process, as described in this section.
(2) The chancellor shall submit the annual report required in paragraph (1) in conjunction with its annual report on associate degree nursing programs required by subdivision (h) of Section 78261.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2030, deletes or extends that date.
