AB 504: Community colleges: Student Success and Support Program funding.

(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, known as the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, establishes and provides for the funding of the Student Success and Support Program. Existing law requires, as a condition for receiving Student Success and Support Program funding, that the governing board of each community college district maintain a student equity plan, as specified.

Existing law requires the student equity plan to include, for each community college in the community college district, campus-based research as to the extent of student equity by gender and for each of several specified categories of students. Existing law also requires the student equity plan to include whether significant underrepresentation of any of these categories of students is found to exist in terms of access to, and completion of, basic skills, career technical education and workforce training, and transfer courses.

This bill would require the student equity plan to instead include whether that significant underrepresentation of any of these categories of students is found to exist in terms of access and retention, degree and certificate completion, English as a Second Language and basic skills completion, and transfer. The bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a standard methodology, for measurement of student equity and disproportionate impact for disaggregated subgroups of the student population of the California Community Colleges, for use in the student equity plans of community college districts, as specified.

(2)Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a list of eligible and ineligible expenditures and activities to ensure that Student Success and Support Program funding is used to support the implementation of student equity plan goals and the coordination of services for the targeted student populations.

This bill would require that Student Success and Support Program funding be used to support the implementation of student equity plan goals and the coordination of services for the targeted student population through evidence-based practices.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 78220 and 78221 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1018 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1018 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.