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.
(1) Existing law requires each chartering authority to be responsible for reviewing the audit exceptions contained in an audit of a charter school under its jurisdiction and determining whether the exceptions have been either corrected or an acceptable plan of correction has been developed, and after completing those financial and compliance audit oversight responsibilities, to identify and provide notification to the governing body of the charter school within 60 days of any material concern arising out of the chartering authority's ongoing oversight and monitoring activities. This bill would instead require the chartering authority, not later than July 1 of each year, to identify and provide written and timely notification of any material concern arising out of the chartering authority's ongoing oversight and monitoring activities during the previous 12 months. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to 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. Existing law also authorizes the commission to issue a PK–3 early childhood education specialist instruction credential, as provided. Existing law requires a candidate for a credential to obtain a certificate of clearance from the commission before admission to student teaching under any professional preparation program approved by the commission, or participation in a field experience program, as provided. This bill would revise and recast that latter provision by requiring a candidate, before admission to any professional preparation program approved by the commission for one of the above-described credentials to provide verification that the candidate either (A) holds a valid permit or credential previously issued by the commission or (B) has applied for a certificate of clearance from the commission. For a candidate who provides verification that the candidate has applied for a certificate of clearance, the bill would require the candidate to obtain the certificate of clearance before beginning student teaching, clinic practice, or participation in a field experience program, as provided. This bill would require a professional preparation program approved by the commission for one of the above-described credentials to (A) submit specified candidate profile information to the commission for each enrolled credential candidate within 30 days of the candidate beginning the program, (B) update each candidate's profile information annually, and (C) indicate to the commission a candidate's program completion within 30 days of the candidate completing all credential requirements. Existing law requires the commission to annually use specified data provided by the State Department of Education to produce an initial data file of vacant positions, as defined, and educator assignments that do not have a clear match of credential to assignment. Commencing July 1, 2027, existing law requires a teacher employed by a local educational agency, as defined to include a school district, county office of education, charter school, or educational joint powers authority, and offering a course in which pupils receive course credit or that counts toward instructional minutes, or both, to hold the certificate, permit, or other document required by the commission for that assignment and to be monitored. This bill would, among other things, also require those teachers to be reported to the department by the local educational agency annually, and would remove educational joint powers authority from the definition of a local educational agency for purposes of these provisions. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated program. (3) Existing law requires each school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners, and, to the extent required by federal law, each county office of education and each charter school, to assess the English language development of each pupil in order to determine the pupil's level of proficiency, as specified. Existing law requires the assessment for initial identification to be conducted upon the initial enrollment of a pupil, excluding enrollment in a transitional kindergarten program, as provided. Existing law authorizes a school district or charter school to maintain a transitional kindergarten program, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, by no later than March 31, 2026, to select, subject to the approval of the executive director of the State Board of Education, a list of screening instruments that meet specified requirements to support the identification of multilingual learners, as defined, enrolled in transitional kindergarten, and authorizes the Superintendent, in the 2026–27 school year, to select local educational agencies to voluntarily conduct a field test of the selected screening instruments. This bill would instead authorize the above-described field test to be conducted in the 2027–28 school year. Existing law, commencing with the 2027–28 school year, requires a local educational agency that serves pupils in transitional kindergarten to screen those pupils whose primary language is a language other than English, as indicated on a home language survey administered upon the pupil's enrollment, to identify them as multilingual learners using a screening instrument selected by the Superintendent, as provided. This bill would delay the commencement of that requirement until the 2028–29 school year. Existing law appropriates $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent to acquire the selected screening instruments and any training materials, as specified, and to support field tests of the screening instruments. Existing law requires those funds to be available for expenditure or encumbrance through June 30, 2028. This bill would instead require those funds to be available for expenditure or encumbrance through June 30, 2029. By extending the encumbrance or expenditure date for an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation. (4) Existing law provides that each person between 6 and 18 years of age not exempted is subject to compulsory full-time education and requires a person subject to compulsory education to attend the public full-time day school or continuation school or classes in the school district in which the residence of the parents or legal guardian is located. Existing law requires a school district to accept enumerated documentation, including property tax payment records, as reasonable evidence of a pupil's residence. Existing law states that a pupil complies with the residency requirements if the pupil's parent is transferred or is pending transfer to a military installation within the state while on active military duty pursuant to an official military order. Existing law authorizes a parent to use one of several enumerated addresses, including that of a temporary on-base billeting facility, for purposes of school application, enrollment, and registration. This bill would expand the list of addresses authorized for the purposes identified above to include, among others, an off-base hotel. To the extent the bill imposes additional duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law establishes that the State Seal of Biliteracy certifies attainment of a high level of proficiency by a graduating high school pupil in one or more languages, in addition to English, and certifies that the graduate meets certain criteria for being proficient in English and one or more languages other than English. For purposes of the State Seal of Biliteracy, proficiency in one or more languages other than English can be demonstrated through at least one of specified methods, including passing a world language Advanced Placement examination with a score of 3 or higher, passing a world language International Baccalaureate examination with a score of 4 or higher, or passing a world language ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) and an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) with scores of Intermediate Mid or higher. This bill would include, beginning with the 2024–25 school year, achieving a level 3 on the high school California Spanish Assessment (CSA) as another method to demonstrate language proficiency in one or more languages other than English for purposes of the State Seal of Biliteracy. (6) Existing law, on or before July 1, 2027, requires the governing board of a school district or educational joint powers authority, the governing body of a charter school, or the county superintendent of schools to adopt a policy for the local educational agency to comply with in order to evaluate and approve contractors. Existing law requires the policy to include certain provisions, including, among others, a provision that provides that a local educational agency shall only contract with an entity that has a business license or business certificate, where applicable, and has appropriate insurance for the service being offered. This bill would exempt contracts with family daycare homes and certain license-exempt providers from that provision. Existing law requires the above-described policy to also include a provision that provides that contractors are prohibited from charging fees to a pupil or the pupil's parent or legal guardian. This bill would require that provision to instead provide that contractors are prohibited from charging fees to a pupil or the pupil's parent or legal guardian, except as otherwise authorized for specified programs. (7) 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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 provides that parents and guardians of children enrolled in public schools have the right and should have the opportunity, as mutually supportive and respectful partners in the education of their children within the public schools, to be informed by the school, and to participate in the education of their children, as specified, including by, among other things, meeting with their child's teacher or teachers and the principal of the school in which their child is enrolled within a reasonable time of their request. This bill would provide that parents, guardians, or educational rights holders of children enrolled in public schools also have the right to communicate with their child's teacher by telephone or a school-approved web conferencing platform if the parent, guardian, or educational rights holder is unable to attend an individual meeting in person about their child, as provided. The bill would prohibit these meetings from being recorded or transcribed. By imposing new duties on public schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would delete an obsolete reference. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51101 of the Education Code proposed by AB 2555 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2555 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.
(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 establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for first-time community college students and returning community college students, as defined, who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, or fewer for students certified as "full time" by a staff person in the disabled student services program, as specified, and who complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application, except as provided. This bill would instead require, for purposes of eligibility for the California College Promise, that students be enrolled in 9 or more, rather than 12 or more, semester units or the equivalent, or fewer for a student certified as eligible, based on a commitment by the student that is analogous to the 9-semester-unit or equivalent workload, by a staff person in the disabled student services program. The bill would additionally require, as a condition of receiving funding for the California College Promise, community colleges to provide a written notification to initial recipients of the California College Promise that includes specified information related to the 2 academic years of eligibility for the California College Promise.
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.
