AB 1805: Community colleges: Student Equity and Achievement Program.

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, the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, provides that the purpose of the act is to increase California community college student access and success by providing effective core matriculation services of orientation, assessment and placement, counseling, and other education planning services, and academic interventions. Existing law requires a community college district or college to maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe. Existing law requires, for those students placed into credit English as a second language (ESL) coursework, community colleges to maximize the probability that the student will complete degree and transfer requirements in English within 3 years. Existing law also requires multiple measures to apply in the placement of all students, as provided.

Existing law also establishes the Student Equity and Achievement Program, pursuant to which funding may be provided to support the California Community Colleges in implementing activities and practices that, among other things, advance the systemwide goal of eliminating achievement gaps for students from traditionally underrepresented groups.

This bill would provide that, as a condition for receiving funding pursuant to the Student Equity and Achievement Program, a community college would be required to do all of the following: inform students of their rights to access transfer-level coursework and academic credit ESL coursework, and of the multiple measures placement policies developed by the community college, as provided; annually report to the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges the community colleges placement policies and placement results; publicly post its placement results; and implement these provisions by a specified date. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the chancellors office make the collected placement policies and placement data publicly available, except for personally identifiable information, by posting the data on its Internet Web site or making it publicly available upon request.