Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the board to appoint a chief executive officer, known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, under the administration of community college district governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at the community college campuses they operate. Existing law, the Teachers' Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. STRS is administered by the Teachers' Retirement Board. Existing law also creates the Cash Balance Benefit Program, which is administered by the board, to provide a retirement plan for the benefit of participating employees who provide creditable service for less than 50% of full time. Existing federal law requires public employers, which includes community college employers, to provide their employees with either social security coverage or membership in a qualified retirement plan. Existing law requires employers subject to STRS, including community college employers, to make available criteria for membership, including optional membership, in a timely manner to persons employed to provide creditable service subject to coverage by the Defined Benefit Program and to inform part-time and substitute employees that they may elect membership in the Defined Benefit Program at any time while employed, as specified. This bill would require STRS, in consultation with the Public Employees' Retirement System, on or before July 1, 2027, to provide on its internet website links to specified information regarding the Defined Benefit Program, the Cash Balance Benefit Program, and social security. The bill would require that information to include, among other things, the differences between membership and contributions made to the Defined Benefit Program and the Cash Balance Benefit Program and covered by social security. The bill would require a community college district, commencing July 1, 2027, to provide the information to a newly hired person who is classified as a temporary employee, as provided. The bill would require a person classified as a temporary employee, as specified, who is employed by a community college district to perform credible service to be provided with the option of membership in the Defined Benefit Program, the Cash Balance Benefit Program, if offered, or social security, as provided. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on a community college district, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, provides, among other things, that all students have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment, and that postsecondary educational institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat discrimination on the basis of, among other things, disability, gender, race, or ethnicity, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable. The Equity in Higher Education Act requires the Trustees of the California State University and the Regents of the University of California to have the primary responsibility to prevent and address conduct that either creates a hostile environment for students on campus or results in differential treatment of students on campus, as specified. The act requires the trustees to, among other things, adopt rules and procedures in the student codes of conduct to prohibit violent, harassing, intimidating, or discriminatory conduct that creates a hostile environment on campus, to prohibit conduct that limits or denies a person's ability to participate in or benefit from the free exchange of ideas or the educational mission of the California State University, and to establish, and require each campus to publish on the campus internet website, reasonable content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions and, if applicable, any advance permitting requirements for protests on campus. The act requires the trustees to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 2 of each year, on the implementation and administration of these provisions, including information on student code of conduct violations. The act requests the University of California to comply with these provisions. This bill would require the above-described report to also include information on student code of conduct violations that occurred during, or as a result of, a protest on campus and a description of the discipline imposed on the student as a result of the specified student code of conduct violation. This bill would require the California State University, and request the University of California, to (1) hold an open forum on a selected campus on or before December 31, 2027, to elicit feedback regarding established content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions, as provided, and (2) notify the relevant policy committees of the Legislature of the location and date of the open forum. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2028.
Commencing January 1, 2027, existing law vests all executive and administrative functions of the State Department of Education in an Education Commissioner. Existing law requires the Education Commissioner, on or before October 1, 2027, to develop findings and recommendations for a 2nd phase of education governance consolidation and streamlining, as specified, and to submit to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature (1) an interim report, by June 30, 2027, with a detailed description of the process used to gather required input for the development of those findings and recommendations and (2) a final report, by October 1, 2027, containing its findings and recommendations. This bill would require the Education Commissioner, utilizing those findings and recommendations, to submit a report, on or before October 1, 2028, to the Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on, among other things, progress toward implementation of the recommended actions or activities for education governance consolidation and streamlining and recommendations of any additional steps the Governor and Legislature can take to consolidate or eliminate fragmented or duplicative state requirements and activities that require statutory or budgetary authority.
Existing law, the Arts and Music in Schools—Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 28 at the November 8, 2022, statewide general election, provides a minimum source of annual funding to K–12 public schools, including public charter schools, to supplement arts education programs for pupils attending those schools, as specified. The act defines "arts education program" for these purposes to include, but not be limited to, instruction and training, supplies, materials, and arts educational partnership programs, for instruction in specified topics. The act requires the continuous appropriation for these purposes, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the State Department of Education, of an amount equal to 1% of the total state and local revenues received by local educational agencies in the preceding fiscal year that are included in the calculation of the minimum funding guarantee established by the California Constitution, as provided. The act requires funds appropriated pursuant to Proposition 28 to be allocated by the department to each local educational agency, and requires local educational agencies to allocate those funds to each schoolsite, pursuant to specified calculations. The act requires the principal or program director of each schoolsite or preschool to develop an expenditure plan for allocated funds. This bill would change the definition of "arts education program" to additionally include curriculum, instructional materials, and professional development, and would require all arts education programs to be consistent with the California Arts Standards for Public Schools, the California Arts Education Framework, or the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations, as applicable. The bill would authorize local educational agencies to pool allocated funds and require, as a condition of this pooling, local educational agencies to ensure, among other things, (1) that expenditures for each schoolsite are in proportion to the allocation for each schoolsite and (2) compliance with the expenditure plan adopted by the principal or program director. The act requires, as a condition of receiving Proposition 28 funds, a local educational agency to, among other things, annually certify that the funds will be used to supplement arts education programs and not supplant existing funding for those programs, and that funds expended in the prior fiscal year were used to supplement arts education programs. This bill would require this certification to include specified calculations that compare existing funds available for arts education programs, as provided, with current year expenditures for arts education programs. The bill would require, in determining the existing funds available for arts education programs, a local educational agency to (1) subtract from the prior year total expenditures for arts programs expenditures from Proposition 28 funds and from resources that are no longer available in the current year, as provided, and (2) subsequently add newly available resources that are spent on arts education programs, excluding current year Proposition 28 funds. The bill would deem a local educational agency for which current year expenditures for arts education programs equal or exceed the calculations of existing funds available for arts education programs to be in compliance with the requirement to supplement arts education programs. The act also requires, as a condition of receiving Proposition 28 funds, a local educational agency to submit an annual governing board or body-approved report in a manner determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction detailing program expenditures and to certify (1) that all funds will be used to provide arts education programs, and that funds expended in the prior fiscal year were, in fact, used for those purposes and (2) , for local educational agencies with an enrollment of 500 or more pupils, that at least 80% of Proposition 28 funds will be used to employ certificated or classified employees to provide arts education program instruction, as provided, and authorizes the department, for good cause shown, to provide a waiver to these requirements. This bill would instead require the annual governing board or body-approved report to be submitted and posted on or before September 30 in a manner determined by the department. The bill would require each schoolsite or preschool to post on its internet website the above-described expenditure plan and information on granted waivers and would authorize a local educational agency to instead require this information to be posted on the local educational agency's internet website. The bill would, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, require a local educational agency to certify that all provisions of Proposition 28 have been implemented in accordance with the requirements of Proposition 28 at each of its schoolsites. To the extent these provisions impose new duties on schoolsites or local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to post approved waivers on its internet website. Existing law, on or before May 1 of each fiscal year, requires (1) the governing board of each school district to either provide for an audit of all funds under the control of that school district or make arrangements with the county superintendent of schools having jurisdiction over the school district to provide for that auditing, (2) the governing body of each charter school to either provide for an audit of all funds under the control of the charter school or make arrangements with the chartering authority to provide for that auditing, and (3) each county superintendent of schools to either provide for an audit of all funds under their jurisdiction and control or make arrangements with the Controller to provide for that auditing. The act requires annual audits of a local educational agency to include, for purposes of Proposition 28, (1) all funds received and distributed by the local educational agency pursuant to specified Proposition 28 provisions and (2) a determination of whether the funds were expended pursuant to the (A) certifications submitted by the local educational agency and (B) requirements of certain Proposition 28 provisions. This bill would delete the requirement that an annual audit of a local educational agency include a determination of whether Proposition 28 funds were expended pursuant to the requirements of certain Proposition 28 provisions. Proposition 28 authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions by a 23 vote of each house if the amendment furthers its purposes. This bill would declare that the above-described provisions further the purposes of Proposition 28. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school for the purpose of offering or expanding dual enrollment opportunities for pupils who may not already be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education, as provided. Existing law requires the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified, and to establish protocols for information sharing, joint facilities use, and parental consent for high school pupils to enroll in community college courses. Existing law requires the protocols to only require a high school pupil participating in a CCAP partnership to submit one parental consent form and principal recommendation for the duration of the pupil's participation in the CCAP partnership. This bill would revise the CCAP partnership provisions to eliminate the requirement that the protocols require principal recommendation. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to revise the special part-time student application process to allow a pupil to complete one application for the duration of the pupil's attendance at a community college as a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement. This bill would require a CCAP partnership agreement to also establish protocols that authorize a pupil to complete one application for the duration of the pupil's attendance at a community college as a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement. Existing law authorizes a community college district to allow a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement to enroll in up to a maximum of 15 units per term in courses offered at the community college campus or the participating high school campus if certain circumstances are satisfied, including that the units constitute no more than 4 community college courses per term. This bill would eliminate the 4 community college courses per term limit for a special part-time student enrolling in up to 15 units under a CCAP partnership agreement. Existing law requires, for each CCAP partnership agreement, the affected community college district and school district, county office of education, or charter school to annually report specified information to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, including the total number of community college courses, by course category and type and by schoolsite, enrolled in by CCAP partnership participants. This bill instead would require the affected community college district and school district, county office of education, or charter school to annually report the total number of high school pupils who successfully completed 12 or more units of college coursework by graduation, completed a certificate, or completed the courses required for an associate degree or an associate degree for transfer.
(1) 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 establishes community college districts throughout the state and authorizes them to operate campuses and provide instruction to students. Existing law authorizes community college districts to admit nonresident students, and requires that nonresident students be charged a nonresident tuition fee unless an exemption applies. Existing law authorizes a community college district to exempt a student who attends Lake Tahoe Community College and who has residence in one of several designated communities in Nevada, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize a community college district to exempt from the nonresident tuition fee a student who attends College of the Siskiyous and who has residence in one of several designated counties in Oregon. The bill would require the governing board of the Siskiyou Joint Community College District to adopt rules and regulations for determining a student's residence classification and for establishing procedures for an appeal and review of the residence classification. By imposing new duties on the Siskiyou Joint Community College District, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would, in any academic year, prohibit more than 200 students from being exempted from payment of the nonresident tuition fee pursuant to this exemption. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for College of the Siskiyous with respect to students who reside in nearby counties located in Oregon. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law authorizes the commission to approve a regionally accredited institution of higher education, as defined, to recommend to the commission the issuance of credentials to persons who have successfully completed a teacher education program of the institution if the program meets the standards approved by the commission. Existing law requires, as a minimum requirement for a preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, the satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation, as provided. Existing law requires professional preparation, including student teaching, to be made available in the upper division course offerings at all California public institutions of higher learning, except as provided. This bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California State University to develop, on or before July 1, 2027, a plan to increase professional teacher preparation partnerships between California State University campuses and community college districts that addresses (1) the expansion of online programs of professional preparation offered by the California State University in partnership with community college districts to increase access and opportunities for students pursuing teaching careers in rural communities, and (2) the expansion of educator preparation pathways between community college districts and the California State University to include opportunities for concurrent enrollment at the California State University in teacher preparation coursework for community college students pursuing a teaching credential. The bill would make implementation of the plan contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2033.
Under existing law, it is the public policy of this state to encourage the utilization of apprenticeship as a form of on-the-job training, when such training is cost effective in developing skills needed to perform public services. Existing law requires state and local public agencies to make a diligent effort to establish apprenticeship programs for apprenticeable occupations in their respective workforces. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law requires, as a minimum requirement for a preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, the satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation, as specified. This bill would require the commission and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to partner in the dissemination, approval, and monitoring of credentialed educator apprenticeship programs in California, and to communicate apprenticeship requirements to professional preparation programs, local educational agencies, and other potential sponsors of credentialed educator apprenticeship programs. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, would authorize the commission to issue apprenticeship certificates or permits to educator candidates without a credential who are employed by local educational agencies and participating in commission-approved credentialed educator apprenticeship programs, as specified, and would require the commission to adopt regulations for that purpose. The bill would authorize the commission and the division to enter into a memorandum of understanding to establish processes and procedures for information sharing, application review, and data collection and reporting, and would authorize the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in consultation with the commission, to issue rules and regulations that govern credentialed educator apprenticeship programs, including the approval and denial of programs, registration of agreements, program administration and procedures, evaluations, working conditions, and minimum standards, as specified. The bill would require an applicant for a new credentialed educator apprenticeship program or for the expansion of an existing credentialed educator apprenticeship program into a new geographic or credential area to submit specified documentation to the chief. The bill would require the division to present the apprenticeship program application to the commission for its review, as provided, and would require the commission, if it is satisfied that specified conditions have been met, to provide written notice of that fact to the chief. The bill would require the commission to, among other things, publish on its internet website guidance for prospective and commission-approved apprenticeship sponsors, commission-accredited professional preparation programs, and employing local educational agencies on the relationship between educator apprenticeships and professional preparation programs, as specified, and to support the development and expansion of educator apprenticeships in credential shortage areas and geographic areas with persistent educator workforce needs, including, but not limited to, through commission-administered grant programs, as applicable. Existing law requires the commission, by April 15 of each year, to report to the Legislature and the Governor information on the availability of teachers in California, including, among other things, the number and percentage of individuals serving pursuant to an emergency permit or credential waiver, as specified. This bill would require that report to also include the number and percentage of individuals serving pursuant to an apprenticeship certificate or permit, as specified.
(1) Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, requires the appropriate governing board or body of each campus of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, private postsecondary educational institutions, and independent institutions of higher education, as a condition of receiving state financial assistance, to, among other things, provide training to all employees on the identification of sexual harassment, including the person to whom it should be reported. Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by resolution, to make them apply. This bill would require those postsecondary educational institutions, as part of employee training, to include certain information related to human trafficking. The bill would also require those postsecondary educational institutions to ensure that each employee annually completes this training. The bill would prohibit the failure of a postsecondary educational institution employee to report human trafficking to the institution or to local law enforcement authorities from, by itself, resulting in the liability of the institution. (2) Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Board of Directors of the College of the Law, San Francisco, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing board of a postsecondary educational institution receiving public funds for student financial assistance to require the appropriate officials at each campus to compile records of crimes on campus that are reported and involve violence, hate violence, theft, destruction of property, illegal drugs, or alcohol intoxication. Under existing law, this requirement and others related to student safety do not apply to community colleges unless and until the Legislature makes funds available to the community colleges for this purpose. This bill would require the appropriate officials at each campus to also compile records of crimes on campus that are reported and involve human trafficking. The bill would impose this requirement and others related to student safety on all community colleges, regardless of whether the Legislature has made funds available to community colleges for this purpose. (3) Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University, the governing board of independent postsecondary institutions, the governing board of a community college district, and the Regents of the University of California to adopt rules requiring each of their respective campuses to enter into written agreements with local law enforcement agencies that clarify operational responsibility for investigations of certain violent crimes, sexual assaults, and hate crimes occurring on campus. Existing law requires these written agreements to be reviewed and updated, as specified. This bill would require the written agreements with local law enforcement agencies to also clarify operational responsibilities for investigations of human trafficking occurring on campus. The bill would also require the written agreements between community colleges and local law enforcement agencies to apply to additional on-campus crimes. The bill would require these written agreements to be reviewed and updated, if necessary, on or before July 1, 2027, and every 5 years thereafter. (4) Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary educational institutions, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to (A) adopt a policy concerning sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking involving a student, as specified, and (B) adopt detailed and victim-centered policies and protocols regarding sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking involving a student, as provided. This bill would require those postsecondary educational institutions to also adopt a policy concerning incidents of human trafficking that involve students, faculty, or staff. The bill would require the policy to include, among other things, a statement that human trafficking is a state and federal crime, and the physical and mental signs that may indicate that human trafficking is occurring. (5) Existing law establishes various student financial aid programs, including the Cal Grant Program. As a condition for participation in the Cal Grant Program, existing law requires the governing board of a community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing board of a private or independent postsecondary educational institution to adopt and implement written policies and procedures to ensure that any report of certain violent crimes, sexual assault, or hate crimes, committed on or off campus, that is received by a campus security authority, and made by the victim for purposes of notifying the institution or law enforcement, is immediately, or as soon as practicably possible, forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency, as provided. This bill would require those postsecondary educational institutions, on or before July 1, 2027, to adopt and implement revised written policies and procedures that include human trafficking in the above-described reporting requirement. (6) By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires each educational institution in the state to have a written policy on sexual harassment and to display that policy in a prominent location, as defined, in the main administrative building or other area of the educational institution's campus or schoolsite. Existing law requires each schoolsite in a school district, county office of education, or charter school, serving pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to create a poster that notifies pupils of that policy and to prominently and conspicuously display the poster in each bathroom and locker room at the schoolsite, as specified. This bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school maintaining any combination of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, on or before the start of the 2027–28 school year, to display, at each schoolsite, as defined, in at least one men's restroom, one women's restroom, and one all-gender restroom used by pupils a legible poster printed in both English and a primary language other than English spoken by at least 15% of pupils enrolled at the schoolsite, that contains specified information relating to sextortion, including, among other information, an age-appropriate description of sextortion, as defined, and contact information for local, state, and federal law enforcement for purposes of reporting or seeking assistance relating to sextortion. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2027, to develop and post on its internet website a model template of the poster for use by those local educational agencies. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.
