Concurrent enrollment in secondary school and community college.

(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to allow pupils whom the district has determined would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work to attend community college as special part-time students, subject to parental permission. Existing law makes the authority of a school principal to recommend a pupil for community college summer session contingent upon a determination that the pupil meets various criteria and prohibits the principal from recommending more than 5% of the total number of pupils from any particular grade level who completed that grade immediately prior to the time of recommendation for summer session attendance, except as specified. This bill would authorize the governing board of a school district to authorize a pupil, upon the recommendation from a community college dean of a career technical education department or other appropriate community college career technical education administrator, and with parental consent, to attend a community college during any session or term as a special part-time or full-time student and to undertake one or more courses of career technical education offered at the community college. The bill also would authorize the governing board of a community college district to enter into a formal partnership with a school district or school districts located within its immediate service area to allow secondary school pupils to attend a community college if those pupils have exhausted all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at the high school of attendance, adult education program, continuation school, regional occupational center or program, or any other programs offered by the governing board of the school district, and if those pupils may benefit from advanced scholastic, career-technical, or vocational courses, courses in basic skills remediation, preparation for the high school exit examination, or English as a 2nd language, and courses designed to prevent pupils from dropping out of high school. The bill would require the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified. The bill would require a community college district and a school district, as a condition of and before adopting a partnership agreement, to take testimony from the public and approve or disapprove the proposed partnership agreement at a regularly scheduled open public hearing of their respective governing boards. The bill would require, for each partnership entered into under the bill, the affected community college district and school district to file an annual report, containing specified data, with the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. (2) Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district to assign a low enrollment priority to a pupil attending community college pursuant to a recommendation from his or her principal or school district or a petition from his or her parents, in order to ensure that these pupils, admitted as special students, do not displace regularly admitted students. This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district to assign an enrollment priority to students attending community college pursuant to a partnership agreement established under the bill. The bill would prohibit a community college district from receiving an allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which a school district has been, or will be, paid.