Bill Text: CA AB770 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Community colleges: basic skills innovation program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB770 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB770-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 770 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Irwin
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 88810 of, and to add Section 88807 to, the
Education Code, relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 770, as amended, Irwin. Community colleges: basic skills
innovation program.
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 authorizes the establishment of
community college districts under the administration of community
college governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide
instruction at community college campuses throughout the state.
Existing law establishes a financial and professional development
grant funding program, which authorizes the governing board of a
community college district to apply to the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges for, and requires the chancellor to
distribute, multiyear financial and professional development grant
funding to community colleges within the district. Existing law
requires colleges receiving these funds to adopt or expand the use of
evidence-based models of academic assessment and placement,
remediation, and student support that accelerate the progress of
underprepared students toward achieving postsecondary educational and
career goals, as specified. Existing law requires recipient
community colleges to report specified information to the chancellor'
s office on program outcomes. Existing law requires
makes the chancellor's office to be
responsible for administering the grant program and
distributing and monitoring awards to recipient community college
districts, developing application criteria, administrative
guidelines, and other requirements for purposes of administering the
grant program, and providing the information submitted by community
college districts to the Legislative Analyst's Office. Existing law
requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to report to the
Legislature on the progress of the grant program in achieving its
prescribed purpose, as specified.
This bill would require a community college district, in order to
receive grant funding, to submit a plan to the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges that details the
strategy of a college or colleges within the district for achieving
the goals of the program. The bill would require a district to
specify in the plan, at a minimum, the number of students to be
served, strategies to be employed, and projected results for the plan'
s implementation. The bill would establish
also require the chancellor's office to determine levels
of funding to be awarded to grant recipients and would set
aside $3,000,000 of the funds appropriated for the program to be used
to provide technical assistance to recipients, and
would authorize the chancellor's office to contract with technical
assistance providers to assist applicant and recipient colleges
in developing and implementing these evidence-based
models of academic assessment and placement, remediation, and student
support, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 88807 is added to the Education Code, to read:
88807. In order to receive a grant pursuant to this part, a
community college district shall submit a plan to the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges that details the
strategy of a college or colleges within the district for achieving
the goals of the grant program. A district shall specify in the
plan, at a minimum, the number of students to be served, strategies
to be employed, and projected results of the plan's implementation.
SEC. 2. Section 88810 of the Education Code is amended to read:
88810. (a) In order to receive a grant, the governing board of a
community college district shall demonstrate in its application for
funding, consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 88805, that the
community colleges that are to participate in the grant program will
redesign their curriculum, career pathways, assessment and placement
procedures, or any combination thereof, to implement, or
significantly expand the use or application of, two or more of the
following evidence-based practices and principles:
(1) Adopting placement tests or other student assessment
indicators and related policies that may include multiple measures of
student performance, including grades in high school courses,
especially overall grade point average, results from the common
assessment system, and input from counselors.
(2) Increasing the placement of students directly in gateway
English and mathematics courses that are transferable to the
University of California or the California State University and
career pathways, with remedial instruction integrated as appropriate
for underprepared students.
(3) Aligning content in remedial courses with the students'
programs of academic or vocational study to target students' actual
needs and increase relevance. This paragraph is intended to encourage
the development of remedial instruction focused on a student's
identified academic need informed by the student's intended course of
study.
(4) Contextualizing remedial instruction in foundational skills
for the industry cluster, pathways, or both, in which the student
seeks to advance.
(5) Providing proactive student support services that are
integrated with the instruction provided.
(6) Developing two- and three-course sequences, as appropriate,
for completion of a college-level English or mathematics course, or
both, for underprepared students, by either utilizing technology,
where appropriate, to enhance the adoption of the high impact
practices specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, or
implementing other effective basic skills course strategies and
practices not specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, subject
to the college providing evidence that substantiates the practice is
effective.
(b) Community colleges are encouraged to collaborate with local
school districts serving kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
to better articulate English and math instruction between the high
schools and the community colleges.
(c) Each participating community college shall be responsible for
all of the following:
(1) Developing a plan based on two or more of the evidence-based
principles and practices described in subdivision (a) that
demonstrates a clear strategy for ensuring that both of the following
occur within a five-year period:
(A) A progressively increasing share of the students who enroll at
participating community colleges within the community college
district achieve the goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section
88805.
(B) A significantly greater share of entering students who are
enrolled at the community college achieve the goals listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 88805 within a shorter time period than
before the implementation of the plan at the community college.
(2) Ensuring that the plan developed pursuant to paragraph (1)
does all the following:
(A) Describes the community college's current practices with
regard to the selected high impact practices and its readiness to
implement the new interventions.
(B) Articulates targets for the share of entering students
projected to be served by these interventions over the three-year
implementation period.
(C) Sets goals for the share of entering students who complete a
college-level English or mathematics course within three semesters or
less after enrollment.
(D) Identifies key strategies and implementation benchmarks for
evaluating the progress of campus efforts to implement the selected
interventions.
(E) Details the number of campus faculty likely to be involved in
all selected high impact interventions and the plan for addressing
their professional and technical assistance needs.
(3) Ensuring that its faculty participate in professional
development regarding academic programs or new curriculum developed
or expanded pursuant to the plan, using grant funds to support that
faculty participation.
(4) Commencing in the year that a community college receives a
grant and for the following three fiscal years, annually reporting to
the chancellor's office on program outcomes, disaggregated by the
demographic characteristics, high school grade point average, and
initial placement level of its students, for purposes of measuring
progress compared to the community college's performance before its
implementation of the plan. These reports should include all of the
following:
(A) The total number and percentage of entering students
identified as underprepared before receipt of the grant.
(B) The number and percentage of entering students served by the
grant program, disaggregated by type of practice implemented.
(C) The number and percentage of entering students achieving the
goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section 88805.
(D) The number of faculty involved and faculty needs regarding the
adoption and operation of courses under the plan.
(E) If applicable, a narrative describing any subsequent
adjustments to the design of the college's basic skills course
practices or strategies adopted pursuant to paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a).
(F) A description of any additional or expanded student supports
offered.
(G) A narrative describing the community college's efforts to
collaborate with local school districts serving kindergarten and
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to better articulate English and math
instruction between the high schools and the community colleges.
(5) Developing the plan in consultation with campus faculty.
(d) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges shall be responsible for all of the following:
(1) Developing application criteria, administrative guidelines,
and other requirements for purposes of administering the grant
program. Applications that would do one or both of the following
shall be given priority consideration within the application
criteria:
(A) Scale up existing practices.
(B) Provide services to greater proportions of students.
(2) Determining the level of funding to be awarded to a recipient
community college district based upon the scope and complexity of the
work proposed in its plan submitted pursuant to Section 88807, as
evidenced by the number of students to be served, strategies to be
employed, and projected results of the plan's implementation.
(2)
( 3) Administering the grant program and
distributing and monitoring awards to recipient community college
districts.
(4) Consulting with internal and external stakeholders for the
purpose of advising on the creation and composition of a team of
technical assistance providers to assist a community college in the
development and implementation of its plan pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(A) Stakeholders shall include, but not be limited to,
representatives from college campuses, faculty, administrators, and
other experts with experience implementing evidence-based practices
that accelerate students' completion of basic skills courses.
(B) Technical assistance providers shall have demonstrated that
they have expertise in the development, or implementation, or both,
of the evidence-based practices outlined in subdivision (a).
(C) The chancellor's office may contract with identified technical
assistance providers to provide assistance in the development and
implementation of plans by applicant and recipient community college
districts.
(3)
(5) Providing the information submitted pursuant to
paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) to the Legislative Analyst's Office.
(e) (1) The Legislative Analyst's Office shall aggregate, analyze,
and report the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (d) to the Legislature on the progress of the grant
program in achieving its prescribed purpose. The Legislative Analyst'
s Office shall issue an interim report by December 1, 2019, and a
final report by December 1, 2021.
(2) (A) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this
subdivision is inoperative on July 1, 2026, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(f) (1) Two levels of funding shall be awarded to grant recipients
as follows:
(A) A recipient college that has no evidence-based practices as
specified in subdivision (a) in place, as of the date of its initial
award, that plans to implement two or more evidence-based practices
for the first time shall receive five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000).
(B) A recipient college that has at least one evidence-based
practice as specified in subdivision (a) in place, as of the date of
its initial award, that plans to scale up one or more of these
evidence-based practices, or implement at least one additional
evidence-based practice for the first time, or both, provided that at
least two evidence-based practices shall be implemented or scaled up
with these funds, shall receive seven hundred fifty thousand dollars
($750,000).
(2) Recipient colleges are strongly encouraged to implement
additional evidence-based practices specified in subdivision (a).
(3) Depending on the availability of funding, a college that
receives a grant may submit plans to scale up one or more of its
implemented evidence-based practices to receive funds for years two
or three, or both, following the implementation of the plan described
in subdivision (c). Grant priority shall be given to colleges that
have yet to receive funding.
(g) (1) Three million dollars ($3,000,000) of the funds
appropriated pursuant to this part shall be set aside statewide for
technical assistance to be provided by content experts who are
selected through a proposal process, as developed by the chancellor's
office, that ensures the identification of appropriate experts who
shall provide technical assistance to recipient colleges in the
following areas:
(A) Improving student placement using multiple measures in
accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(B) Contextualizing remedial instruction in foundational skills
for the industry cluster, pathways, or both, in which the student
seeks to advance.
(C) Developing and offering effective and shortened English and
mathematics remedial course sequences as described in paragraph (6)
of subdivision (a).
(2) Technical assistance under paragraph (1) shall help colleges
achieve the following goals:
(A) Improving the accuracy of student placement.
(B) Placing as many students as appropriate directly in gateway
English and mathematics courses that are transferable to the
University of California or the California State University and
career pathways, with remedial instruction integrated as appropriate
for underprepared students.
(C) Helping students complete college-level English or mathematics
within a two or three course sequence.
(D) Providing proactive student supports.
(3) Technical assistance as described in this subdivision shall be
provided during the first three years that a grant recipient college
implements the plan specified in subdivision (c), with emphasis
placed on the first year of implementation. A recipient college or
college district may use grant funds to purchase additional technical
assistance, as appropriate.
