California Assembly Bill AB770 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 770AMENDED 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.