Adult education: consortia: parenting education: family literacy education.

Existing law requires adult schools and evening high schools to consist of classes for adults. Existing law authorizes minors to be admitted into those classes pursuant to policies adopted by the governing board of the school district if those minors meet certain eligibility requirements. (1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district maintaining secondary schools to establish and maintain classes for adults, as specified. Existing law authorizes specified classes and courses to be offered by school districts and county superintendents of schools for apportionment purposes from the adult education fund, including, among other subject matters, classes and courses for adult programs in parenting education. 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 requires specified noncredit community college courses and classes to be eligible for program-based funding from the state, including, among other subject matters, parenting education courses and classes. This bill would specify that, for the purposes of funding from the adult education fund or from program-based community college funding, as described above, parenting education includes family literacy education, as specified. (2) Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education, pursuant to funding made available in the annual Budget Act, to jointly provide 2-year planning and implementation grants to regional consortia of community college districts and school districts for developing regional plans to better serve the educational needs of adults. Existing law requires the grant funds provided under this program to be used by each regional consortium to create and implement a plan to better provide adults in its region with all of the following: elementary and secondary basic skills; classes and courses for immigrants eligible for educational services in citizenship and English as a second language, and workforce preparation classes in basic skills; education programs for adults with disabilities; short-term career technical education programs; and programs for apprentices. This bill would additionally require the plan to better provide adults in the region with parenting education, including, but not necessarily limited to, parent cooperative preschools and classes in child growth and development and parent-child relationships, and family literacy education, as specified. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on school districts and community college districts that participate in these regional consortia, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.