California Assembly Bill AB2385 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2385AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member John A. Perez  (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member  Buchanan   )  (Coauthor: Assembly Member  Buchanan   Galgiani  ) FEBRUARY 19, 2010 An act to add and repeal Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 78265) of Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2385, as amended, John A. Perez. Pilot Program for  Accelerated   Innovative  Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges. 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 establishes community college districts, each of which is administered by a governing board, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts. The bill would establish the Pilot Program for  Accelerated   Innovative  Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges  , and would require   under the administration of  the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to  design a pilot program in accordance with prescribed criteria with the goal of facilitating early graduation by reducing the time it takes to earn a degree to 18 months or less for students participating in the pilot program. The bill would require the chancellor's office to establish policies and procedures for the process of establishing an application process that would lead to the selection of the community college campuses that would participate in the pilot program. The bill would require the chancellor's office to design the program to commence in the 2012-13 academic year and to provide accelerated learning in a variety of formats, including online and distance learning courses and intensive weekend and evening course modules   facilitate the graduation of community college nursing and allied health students by piloting innovative models to expand the state's capacity to prepare a qualified health care workforce. The bill would require the chancellor's office to establish the pilot program at up to 5 campuses throughout the state according to specified requirements  .  The bill would authorize participating campuses to admit students to the pilot program in accordance with the multicriteria screening process, as prescribed. The bill would also require participating campuses to provide specified support services. The bill would authorize the chancellor's office to solicit and receive federal and private sector funds for the pilot program, and would require those federal and private funds to be deposited in the Pilot Program for Accelerated Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges Fund, which the bill would establish, to be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature.   The bill would authorize participating campuses to collect supplemental fees from participating students to support the pilot program based upon a fee schedule approved by the chancellor's office and would not permit these fees to offset state apportionment funding.  The bill would require the chancellor's office to collect appropriate data for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program. The bill would require the chancellor's office to analyze this data, and report its findings and recommendations with respect to the pilot program to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2017. The bill would provide that the pilot program would become inoperative on July 1, 2017, and as of January 1, 2018, would be repealed. 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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Allied health care occupations are expected to grow dramatically in the next decade, and California labor market data show that, by 2017, allied health care occupations are projected to account for more than 1,100,000 jobs around the state,  which would be  an increase of close to 130,000 jobs, or 13 percent, from 2007. (b)  Reports from health   Health    care industry experts project a growing demand for care due to burgeoning population growth and an aging population.  Impending retirements   Retirements  by health care employees will place additional strain on a system struggling to  hire the large numbers   train the number  of qualified  , well-trained workers needed   individuals necessary  to meet the demands of the health care industry. (c) Although one of the most publicized shortage areas  is that of   has been  registered nurses, a wide variety of allied health care occupations also  are facing  face  worker shortages. (d) The California Community Colleges system currently trains approximately 70 percent of registered nurses statewide, and the system offers educational programs in a variety of allied health care professions. (e) Allied health care profession education programs are among the most costly education programs offered by  colleges, and they   community colleges and colleges  have been  subject to deep State Budget cuts.   (f)     Community colleges have been forced by the current fiscal climate to limit their enrollment capacity, and therefore these campuses are struggling to keep pace with the level of demand for health care education programs.   forced by fiscal constraints to limit their enrollment capacity.   (g)   (f)  Currently, most associate degree nursing and allied health care profession courses are offered over four semesters or two school years, and require the completion of 70 units in program courses, assuming that the student has met all of the prerequisite requirements and is ready to start the program  immediately  .  (h)   (g)  The goal of  an accelerated program would be to allow students to attend full time and earn their degrees sooner.   this bill is to pilot innovative program delivery and curriculum models to enable students to earn their degrees and enter the workforce as quickly as possible and expand the state's capacity to train a qualified health care workforce without compromising the integrity of program and licensure requirements.   (i) A successful accelerated program could   (h)     Successful program models would  be a center of innovation and a  testing ground   foundation  for the newest educational technology and curricular ideas. SEC. 2. Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 78265) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read: Article 3.7. Pilot Program for  Accelerated   Innovative  Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges 78265. (a) The Pilot Program for  Accelerated   Innovative  Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges is hereby established under the administration of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. The goal of the pilot program shall be to facilitate the  early  graduation of  participating  community college nursing and allied health students by  reducing the amount of time necessary to earn a degree.   piloting innovative models to expand the state' s capacity to prepare a qualified health care workforce.  (b) The chancellor's office shall establish the pilot program at  up to  five campuses  geographically distributed  throughout the state.  The chancellor's office shall establish procedures and policies so that interested community college campuses may apply for participation in the pilot program. The chancellor's office shall also develop and apply criteria for the selection of the five campuses that will participate in the program. These criteria shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the extent to which an applying campus offers coursework in the allied health care occupations where the need is greatest, and the existence and quality of partnerships between the applying campuses and hospitals and clinics in their respective communities in order to enable participating students to obtain appropriate clinical experience. In developing and applying these criteria, the chancellor' s office shall consult with major employers of health care professionals in this state.   (c) The chancellor's office shall design the pilot program with the intent that it shall be implemented at the participating campuses commencing with the 2012-13 academic year.   (c) The pilot programs shall test innovative program delivery models to expand the capacity of community colleges to offer health care training to students in occupations for which there is a substantial labor market demand. Pilot programs shall test health care education models that use tools such as technology, flexible scheduling, and fees specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 78265.7 to sustain the expanded training capacity. Pilot programs shall coordinate student services and financial assistance to the maximum extent possible in order to facilitate a student's successful program completion.   (d) The chancellor's office shall pursue a variety of funding sources to help support the development and delivery of the pilot programs and create high-quality curriculum delivery models to be used in health care certificate and degree programs. These funding sources shall include, but not be limited to, federal grants, philanthropic funds, employer monetary and in-kind contributions, and state and federal workforce funds.   (e) The chancellor's office, contingent upon obtaining resources to support the development and delivery of the pilot programs, shall develop a request for application for community colleges to participate in the pilot program commencing on or after the 2011-12 academic year. The chancellor's office shall develop the request for application in collaboration with representatives from education, labor, business, licensing and credentialing entities, and other appropriate entities. The chancellor's office shall specify the amount of baseline funding provided for each pilot program based upon funding sources developed pursuant to subdivision (d). Pilot programs shall be in certified allied health care or nursing programs.   (f) The chancellor's office shall select pilot programs that do all of the following:   (1) Provide students with certificated training in health care fields for which there is a demonstrated shortage of workers in the labor market and documented support from employers.   (2) Demonstrate either limited capacity in the community college for training specified health care workers, or the need to either sustain or expand current innovative health care education and training programs. Limited capacity may be demonstrated by waiting lists to enter existing community college training programs.   (3) Provide evidence of sufficient clinical sites for offering the pilot program.   (4) Include high-quality curriculum delivery models as part of the pilot program. Proposals utilizing online and distance learning courses shall meet the curriculum standards approved by the appropriate state licensing entities that oversee each health occupation.   (5) Provide flexibility in the delivery of coursework by providing intensive weekend, evening, and summer courses to enable students to efficiently complete program requirements.   (6) Offer coordinated supportive services to students, including, but not limited to, tutoring and financial advising.   (7) Demonstrate clear, nonduplicative articulated career pathways with local secondary and higher education entities.   (8) Identify resources to support the pilot program, including, but not limited to, funding provided by the chancellor's office obtained from outside sources for the support of the pilot program, student fees, student financial aid, local workforce investment funding, and locally provided employer or philanthropic resources.   (g) The chancellor's office shall select, to the extent possible, pilot programs that are geographically distributed throughout the state.   (h) In selecting the pilot programs, the chancellor's office may give consideration to existing innovative programs currently underway within the community college system that require additional resources to move to scale.  78265.1. As used in this article the following definitions apply: (a) "Chancellor's office" means the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. (b) "Pilot program" means the Pilot Program for  Accelerated   Innovative  Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges established by Section 78265.  78265.3. (a) The pilot program shall provide accelerated learning in a variety of formats, and shall provide student success services to facilitate a student's completion of the program in 18 months or three semesters, or less. (b) The accelerated learning provided by the pilot program shall include online and distance learning courses, allowing students to accelerate their course-taking patterns and progress rapidly through the requirements of a nursing or allied health care education program. Online and distance learning courses made available under this section shall meet the curriculum standards approved for these courses by the appropriate state entity that oversees each health occupation program. (c) The accelerated learning provided by the pilot program shall include intensive weekend and evening course modules, similar to accelerated executive graduate programs designed for working professionals.   78265.5.   78265.2.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the pilot program attract and admit a diverse and talented pool of students likely to succeed in an  accelerated program and to thrive upon entering a health care profession.   innovative program model setting.  (b) To effectuate the legislative intent expressed in subdivision (a), both of the following shall occur: (1) In selecting students for admission to the pilot program, participating campuses may use  a diagnostic assessment tool identified by the chancellor's office pursuant to Section 78261. The use of a diagnostic assessment tool by a participating campus shall be part of a comprehensive program-based support system for students who need skills enhancement prior to entering the program. When the number of applicants for the pilot program exceeds the capacity to admit students, a participating campus may administer  the multicriteria screening process established under Section 78261.5 when the use of this process is deemed feasible. (2) Participating campuses shall provide support services to help students  stay and complete the academically rigorous accelerated   complete the  pilot program. These support services shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the presence of student success advisers, tutors, mentors, appropriate financial assistance, and aid in placing students who complete the program in appropriate internships.  78265.7.   78265.3. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the pilot program be funded with a combination of state apportionment funding, student fees, federal grants, and private philanthropic resources. (b) To effectuate the legislative intent expressed in subdivision (a),  the chancellor's office shall make every feasible effort to secure federal and private sector funding for the pilot program. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the chancellor's office may solicit and accept funding from federal and private sources. Funds received pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Pilot Program for Accelerated Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges Fund, which is hereby created. Funds deposited in the fund under this section shall be available for expenditure for the purposes of this article, upon appropriation by the Legislature.   both of the following shall occur:  (1) (A) Notwithstanding any other law, a campus participating in the pilot program may collect supplemental fees from participating students to support the program based upon a fee schedule approved by the chancellor's office during the pilot program selection process. Notwithstanding any other law, the supplemental student fees collected in support of this pilot program shall not offset state apportionment funding.   (B) A campus participating in the pilot program that elects to collect supplemental fees shall make all reasonable efforts and accommodations to ensure that state and federal financial aid is available to eligible students who participate in the pilot program.   (C) A student who is on a program wait list may opt out of paying the supplemental fee and shall not lose his or her place on the wait list as a result of opting out of the supplemental fee.   (2) The chancellor's office shall make every feasible effort to secure federal and private sector funding for the pilot program. These funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be used to support implementation of the pilot program.   78265.8.   78265.4.  The chancellor's office shall collect appropriate data for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program. The chancellor's office shall analyze this data, and report its findings and recommendations with respect to the pilot program to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2017.  78265.9.   78265.5.  This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017, and, as of January 1, 2018, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.