Postsecondary education: the College Promise Partnership Act.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. 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 authorizes the governing board of a school district to authorize pupils, with parental permission, who would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work to attend community college as special part-time or full-time students to undertake one or more courses of instruction at the community college level. Existing law authorizes the parent or guardian of a pupil to petition the governing board of a school district to authorize the attendance of the pupil at a community college as a special part-time or full-time student on the ground that the pupil would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work. Existing law further authorizes the governing board of a community college district to admit those students to any community college under its jurisdiction and to include those students in the district's report of full-time equivalent students if they are enrolled in community college classes that are open to the general public. This bill would enact the College Promise Partnership Act, and authorize the Long Beach Community College District and the Long Beach Unified School District to enter into a partnership, as specified, to provide participating pupils with an aligned sequence of rigorous high school and college coursework leading to capstone college courses, as defined, with consistent and jointly established eligibility for college courses. The bill would authorize the Long Beach Community College District to admit to any community college under its jurisdiction, as a special part-time or full-time student, a student participating in the partnership and to assign priority for enrollment and course registration to specified students. The bill would also authorize the district to include high school students, who attend a community college within the district and participate in the partnership, for the purpose of receiving state apportionments on the same basis as other community college districts. The bill would require the Long Beach Community College District to report to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges the moneys utilized for the partnership by no later than November 1 of each year the partnership is in operation. This bill would require the Long Beach Community College District, if it decides to enter into a partnership, to provide for an independent evaluation of the partnership, as specified, funded with resources provided by the participating entities. The evaluation would be required, at a minimum, to provide recommendations for the improvement of, and issues related to, the establishment of admittance, enrollment, and course registration priority provided to pupils participating in the partnership, and on whether the partnership has met specified objectives. The evaluation would be required to be submitted to the Legislature by December 30, 2016, and the evaluation process requirement would be repealed on January 1, 2018. The other provisions of this bill would become inoperative on June 30, 2017, and, as of January 1, 2018, would be repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Long Beach Unified School District and the Long Beach Community College District.