California Assembly Bill AB2203 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2203AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 15, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Solorio FEBRUARY 18, 2010 An act to add Section  66723   66406.5  to the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2203, as amended, Solorio. Public postsecondary education:  text policies.   college textbooks.  Existing law establishes the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. These segments include the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, and the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.  Existing law requires the trustees and the board of governors, and requests the regents, to work with the academic senates of each respective segment to encourage faculty to give consideration of the least costly practices in assigning textbooks, including using a selected textbook as long as it is educationally sound.   This bill would encourage the board of governors, the trustees, and the regents to review each respective segment's student transfer policies, and to revise those policies, to ensure that students may continue to use a textbook selected for a transfer or general education course, regardless of publication date, for as long as the textbook is available to students and the information contained in the textbook is current and reflects contemporary thinking in the discipline.   Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that the regents, the trustees, and the board of governors have as a fundamental policy the maintenance of an effective student transfer system. Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that the 3 segments pursue the development of transfer agreement programs that specify the curricular requirements that must be met, and the level of achievement that must be attained, by community college students in order for those students to transfer to the campus, undergraduate college, or major of choice in the public 4-year segments.   The bill would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and urge the University of California, to revise their policies to require the main text for a proposed transfer or general education course to be published within 7 years of the submission of the course for transfer or general education credit, instead of 5 years.  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 66406.5 is added to the   Education Code  , to   read:   66406.5. The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California are encouraged to review each respective segment's student transfer policies, and to revise those policies, to ensure that students may continue to use a textbook selected for a transfer or general education course, regardless of publication date, for as long as the textbook is available to students and the information contained in the textbook is current and reflects contemporary thinking in the discipline.   SECTION 1.   Section 66723 is added to the Education Code, to read: 66723. The California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and the University of California is urged to, revise their policies to require the main text for a proposed transfer or general education course to be published within seven years of the submission of the course for transfer or general education credit, instead of five years.