AB 811: Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012: repeating credit courses.

Existing law creates 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 authorizes community college districts throughout the state to provide instruction at the campuses they operate.

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. The act requires, among other things, a community college district or community college to maximize the probability that students will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe of their initial attempt in the discipline, as provided.

This bill would require the governing board of each community college district to establish policies for the repetition of credit courses offered by the community colleges in the district. The bill would require these policies to include, but not be limited to, authorization for a student to repeat, up to, but not exceeding, 2 times, a credit course in arts, humanities, kinesiology, foreign languages, and English as a second language, for which the student previously received a satisfactory grade and which the student is retaking for enrichment or skill-building purposes, and a requirement that the community college inform a student whether the decision to repeat those credit courses will impact the students federal financial aid qualifications, as provided. The bill would also require the policies to provide priority registration for credit courses to students who require the course for their intended major and to students who have not taken the course.

This bill would require the Board of Governors to adopt regulations regarding the policies for the repetition of credit courses that are consistent with the requirements described above.

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.