Education.

Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge each student a fee, and sets that fee at $36 per unit per semester. Existing law requires this fee to be raised to $46 per unit per semester, effective with the fall term of the 2011–12 academic year, if a provision of the Budget Act of 2011 becomes operative that requires the Director of Finance to reduce specified appropriations if he or she determines that the higher of 2 specified state revenue forecasts does not meet one or both of certain thresholds. This bill would specify that the raising of this fee to $46 per unit per semester would occur if the higher revenue forecast projects General Fund revenues for the 2011–12 fiscal year of less than $87,452,500,000. The bill would further specify that this fee increase, if it occurs, would be effective with the winter term, rather than the fall term, of the 2011–12 academic year. The Budget Act of 2011 (Chapter 33 of the Statutes of 2011) appropriated moneys from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for, among other things, special education instruction during the 2011–12 fiscal year. This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2011 by reducing the amount of moneys appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for special education instruction. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.