Asm. Jose Medina

This measure would request the Governor to designate specified departments to accelerate the planning, creation, and completion timelines for a California Nonmotorized Trails Master Plan for urban and rural regions to expand specified opportunities for Californians. The measure would request the Governor to request the President of the United States, Members of Congress, and the Federal Highway Administration to dedicate increased funding to California to accelerate and support the planning and development of the plan and to accelerate the completion of existing nonmotorized recreational trails.

This measure would proclaim June 21, 2017, as Asking Saves Kids Day.

This measure would recognize the month of August 2017 as Opportunity Youth Reengagement Month, and state the intent of the Legislature to encourage the expansion of schools authorized to specifically reengage "opportunity youth" 16 to 24 years of age by developing recommendations for a statewide student reengagement strategy and identifying the cost of the strategy compared to the cost of inaction; authorizing systems for accountability to students, parents, and families through transparency, active engagement, and outreach strategies; and highlighting, promoting, and uplifting evidence-based practices for successful student reengagement efforts that maintain multiple measures for evaluation of student success.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to support S. 349, the Access to Counsel Act, which would ensure that those persons held or detained while attempting to enter the United States, whether at a border crossing or a port of entry, would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.

This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to continue to place an emphasis on increasing funding to NASA's budget and encouraging the expansive use of public-private partnerships to propel the industry forward into the next generation of advancement.

This measure would recognize adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) , also known as post-traumatic "street" disorder in communities of color, as having lasting negative outcomes to both physical and mental health with growing implications for our state.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award a State Seal of Biliteracy. Existing law provides 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 specified criteria, including, but not limited to, passing the California Standards Test in English language arts administered in grade 11 at the proficient level or above. This bill would replace that criterion with one requiring that a pupil pass the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress for English language arts, or any successor test, administered in grade 11, at or above the "standard met" achievement level, or at the achievement level determined by the Superintendent for any successor test. Existing law requires a pupil in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, if the primary language of the pupil is other than English, to attain the early advanced proficiency level on the English language development test and to meet other specified requirements in order to qualify for the State Seal of Biliteracy. This bill would repeal the requirement to attain the early advanced proficiency level on the English language development test, and would instead require a pupil to attain the level demonstrating English language proficiency on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, or any successor English language proficiency assessment, in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and to meet those other same requirements, in order to qualify for the State Seal of Biliteracy. Existing law requires that proficiency in a language other than English, for purposes of qualifying for the State Seal of Biliteracy, be demonstrated through one of four methods, including by passing a school district language examination that, at a minimum, assesses speaking, reading, and writing at the proficient level or higher, if no Advanced Placement examination or off-the-shelf language test exists and the school district can certify that the test meets certain standards. This bill, notwithstanding that provision, would require a pupil who seeks to qualify for the State Seal of Biliteracy through a language that is not characterized by listening, speaking, or reading, or for which there is no written system, to pass an assessment on the modalities that characterize communication in that language at the proficient level or higher.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and establishes community college districts throughout the state that operate community colleges and provide instruction to students. Existing law requires community college districts to charge each student an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester. Existing law requires the board of governors to waive this fee for students meeting prescribed requirements, which include meeting specified minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors. Existing law requires the board of governors to consider, among other things, a process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college when developing and adopting those minimum academic and progress standards. Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that these minimum academic and progress standards be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. Existing regulations require each community college district to establish written procedures by which a student may appeal the loss of a board of governors fee waiver due to extenuating circumstances, or where a student with a disability applied for, but did not receive reasonable accommodation in a timely manner. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the minimum academic and progress standards be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to additionally ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on geographic location. The bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to review, for general consistency, each community college district's due process procedures, including any subsequent modifications of the procedures, adopted to appeal the loss of a fee waiver under these provisions, and comment on the procedures, as appropriate. The bill would require each community college district to, at least once every 3 years, examine the impact of the specified minimum academic and progress standards and determine whether those standards have had a disproportionate impact on a specific class of students, and if a disproportionate effect is found, the bill would require the community college district to include steps to address that impact in a student equity plan. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, 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.