BILL NUMBER: AB 1985INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams FEBRUARY 16, 2016 An act to add Article 9 (commencing with Section 79500) to Chapter 9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to Advanced Placement credit. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1985, as introduced, Williams. Postsecondary education. Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Regents of the University of California, and the Trustees of the California State University, with appropriate consultation with the Academic Senates of the respective segments, to jointly develop, maintain, and disseminate a shared core curriculum in general education courses for the purposes of transfer. This bill would require the California Community Colleges to develop, and each community college district to adopt, a uniform policy to award a pupil who passes an Advanced Placement exam with a score of 3 or higher credit for a course within this curriculum with subject matter similar to that of the Advanced Placement exam. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Article 9 (commencing with Section 79500) is added to Chapter 9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read: Article 9. Advanced Placement Credit 79500. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a uniform Advanced Placement (AP) credit policy within the California Community Colleges. (b) Studies consistently find that pupils who earn AP Exam scores of three and higher are likely to demonstrate multiple measures of college success. (c) The lack of a uniform AP credit policy often serves as an academic and financial barrier for students enrolling in California Community Colleges and is a transfer obstacle for many pupils. 79501. The California Community Colleges shall develop, and each community college district shall adopt, a uniform policy to award a pupil who passes an Advanced Placement exam with a score of three or higher credit for a California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum course with subject matter similar to that of the Advanced Placement exam. SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.