State and Legislative Issues

Support Expanding Dual Enrollment Opportunities for High School Students

Whereas, The Chancellor’s Office is sponsoring AB 288 (Holden, as of March 23, 2015)[1], legislation that seeks to address some commonly recognized barriers to the local implementation of dual enrollment and to expand opportunities for dual enrollment through the creation of agreements between college and school districts that are approved at public meetings of the college and school district boards in order to establish seamless pathways from high school to community college for struggling and at-risk high school students;

Support Funding for Career Pathways and Coordination of Long Range Planning

Whereas, Legislators have recognized the importance of improving student transitions from high school to community college, commonly referred to as career pathways, since 2005, which has led to local, regional, and state investments serving middle schools, high schools, and colleges (SB 70, 2005, Scott; SB1070, 2012, Steinberg; AB 86, 2013, Blumenfield; and the California Pathways Trust Fund, 2013-2018); 

Oppose Expansion of Former CPEC Mission and Creation of a Higher Education Oversight Body That Does Not Contain Segmental Representation

Whereas, California law establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the coordinating and planning agency for statewide postsecondary education, but CPEC was defunded by the governor in 2011 and its statutory functions did not include oversight of higher education;

Support for Middle Class Scholarship Act

Whereas, Expenses for California community college students have risen dramatically in the past few years and the Middle Class Scholarship Act (AB 1501, Perez, as of February 9, 2012) would bring much needed relief for families with annual incomes of less than $150,000 that are struggling to meet the burdens associated with the rising costs of higher education and who often do not qualify for financial aid;

Tiered Fees in the California Community Colleges

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges opposes “recommendations that establish different academic policies for students based on their differing abilities to pay” (Resolution 7.03 F11) and also strongly opposes “any attempt to abridge the mission of California community colleges, reduce their affordability, or remove their control from the communities they serve” (Resolution 7.02 F11);

Early Childhood Education

Whereas, The governor’s proposed January 2012-13 budget calls for saving $517 million through the curtailment of early childhood education (ECE) by slashing program eligibility, lowering family income levels, and removing the enrollment in a course of study in higher education as a reason to be eligible for services, and recommendations for 2012-2014 include moving all except a fraction of ECE from the State Department of Education to the State Department of Social Services;

E-Transcripts

Whereas, Assembly Bill (AB) 1056 (Fong, February 18, 2011) calls for the establishment of an electronic student transcript record-keeping and transmission system for all California community colleges (CCC) that will allow student transcripts to be transferred internally and externally by secure electronic means;

Whereas, Such a system (which is already operational in a pilot form - http://etranscriptca.org/ ) will likely reduce operational costs, expedite the transfer of student transcripts, and increase record portability;

Community College Fees

Whereas, The 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education expressed the intent that access and affordability are the principles on which California public education stands;

Whereas, Based on these principles the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has a long-standing position against fees for public higher education, a position that unfortunately has not been upheld by the Legislature;

Amend Resolution 6.08 S10

Add a second resolved:

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with Assembly member Anderson as AB 2400 moves forward to perfect the legislation and protect faculty primacy in curriculum and program development.

MSR Disposition: Referred to the Executive Committee to do with as the Executive Committee sees fit.

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