California Senate Bill SB1126 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1126AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu FEBRUARY 18, 2010 An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 66745) to Chapter 9.2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1126, as amended, Liu. Public postsecondary education: student transfer: early childhood  education course requirements.   education: transfer courses.  Existing law establishes the segments of the public postsecondary education system in the state, including the University of California administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the board of governors, the regents, and the trustees to jointly develop, maintain, and disseminate a common core curriculum in general education courses for the purposes of student transfer and prescribes related requirements. These provisions are applicable to the University of California only to the extent that the regents, by appropriate resolution, make them applicable.  This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University, and request the Regents of the University of California, in conjunction with the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, to develop articulation and transfer program agreements for early childhood education and related majors. The bill would require those agreements to include a waiver of course requirements for those majors for completion of similar courses at a community college and to count those courses toward the completion of minimum upper division requirements for those majors. The bill would make related findings and declarations.   This bill would require the Academic Senates of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request the Academic Senate of the University of California, to review the lower division 8 common core courses in child development or early education in conjunction with early childhood faculty to improve early childhood educator program articulation, and in doing so, to consider and make findings on specified topics, which the chairs of the Academic Senates of the California Community Colleges and the California State University would be required, and the chair of the Academic Senate of the University of California would be requested, to report to the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before December 1, 2011, along with other specified recommendations and suggestions. The bill would require the California State University, and request the University of California, to deem specified transferring community college students as having fulfilled lower division coursework requirements, and not require these students to take more total units in child development or early education to satisfy graduation requirements for the related majors than other enrolled students. The bill would make the reporting requirement inoperative on January 1, 2015, and require the report to be submitted in compliance with specified law.  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. Article 3 (commencing with Section 66745) is added to Chapter 9.2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read: Article 3. Early Childhood Education Transfer Requirements 66745. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:  (a) Early childhood educators play a critical role in the development of children. The Child and Family Policy Center has found that the early childhood education workforce, which includes directors, teachers, assistant teachers, and providers, includes approximately 130,000 people, predominately female, who educate and care for 750,000 infants and preschoolers.   (b) The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment has found that the demand for high-quality child care and early education far exceeds the number of providers and facilities currently available.   (c)   (a)  A study conducted by First 5 California estimates that more than 50 percent of children under the age of five require the care of someone other than their parents. The same study found that children who participate in high-quality child care and education do better in reading and math and are more likely to graduate from high school, go to college, and develop better emotional and social skills.  (d)   (b)  The Child Care Law Center has determined that early care and education is a critical area for societal investment to ensure equity and opportunity for all children, to support low-income families, and to fight poverty.  (e) Early childhood education students are more likely to be educated at California Community Colleges. Only 18 of the early childhood teacher preparation programs and the baccalaureate programs offered by the California State University are geared toward early childhood education teacher training.   (f) According to the Office of the Chancellor of the California State University, of the 430,000 students enrolled in the system for the fall 2009 semester, only 377 are majoring in early childhood education.   (g) One hundred three California Community Colleges offer child development or early childhood education majors, making them more accessible than the California State University system.   (c) The demand for high quality child care and early education far surpasses the number of providers and facilities currently available. Licensed care in California is available for only 27 percent of children with parents in the labor force.   (d) Students in California face barriers as they move from community colleges to four year institutions due to a lack of consistency in colleges and confusing educational requirements that slow the growth of a well educated workforce.   (e) In order for California to meet the demand for high-quality early education programs and to address the critical shortage of highly qualified early childhood educators in our state, the state needs to implement research based criteria for early childhood educators, improve articulation and transfer pathways for early childhood educators, and ensure that policies reflect the best practices identified by research.   66746. (a) The Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, in conjunction with the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, develop articulation agreements and transfer program agreements for early childhood education and related majors. These agreements are subject to the following requirements: (1) Course requirements for the completion of a major in early childhood education, or a related major, shall be waived by the destination campus of the California State University or University of California, to the extent that a student has satisfactorily completed similar coursework at the community college from which the student transferred. (2) Courses waived pursuant to paragraph (1) shall count toward the completion of minimum upper division requirements for the early childhood education major or a related major. (b) The trustees and the board of governors shall, and the regents are requested to, in consultation with the appropriate faculty, develop criteria for determining both of the following for purposes of this section: (1) Whether a major is related to early childhood education. (2) Whether coursework completed at a community college is similar to a required course at a campus of the University of California or the California State University.   66746. (a) The Academic Senates of the California State University and the California Community Colleges shall, and the Academic Senate of the University of California is requested to, review the lower division 8 common core courses in child development or early education in conjunction with early childhood faculty to improve early childhood educator program articulation. In conducting this work, the academic senates shall consider and make findings on all of the following: (1) A plan to ensure that California State University and University of California courses reflect the advanced level of early educator competencies that will build upon the lower division 8 common core courses and other competency based coursework. (2) The transferability of coursework from the California Community Colleges to the California State University and the University of California. (3) An implementation plan for the attainment of a baccalaureate degree in child development, early education, or a related major at the California Community Colleges in collaboration with the California State University or the University of California. (b) The chairs of the Academic Senates of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and the chair of the Academic Senate of the University of California is requested to, report to the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before December 1, 2011, on the findings made pursuant to subdivision (a), recommend the next steps for implementing changes to facilitate success for students in early childhood education programs, and suggest any statutory changes necessary to implement their findings. (c) The California State University shall, and the University of California is requested to, deem transferring community college students who have completed all lower division 8 common core courses and general education requirements as having fulfilled lower division coursework requirements and not require these students to take more total units in child development or early education to satisfy graduation requirements for the related majors than other enrolled students. (d) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under subdivision (b) is inoperative on January 1, 2015, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code. (2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.