Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. The governing board of any community college district is authorized, without approval of the board of governors, to establish and maintain community service classes in civic, vocational, literacy, health, homemaking, technical, and general education, as specified.

This bill would establish the California Community Colleges Extension Pilot Program to permit the governing board of a community college district that meets specified requirements to establish and maintain an extension program offering credit courses.

The bill would require an extension program to, among other things, be self-supporting, open to the public, and developed and conducted in conformance with specified statutory and regulatory guidelines. The bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to determine whether an extension program meets specified requirements and to annually review extension programs. The bill would require that governing boards not expend any General Fund moneys to establish and maintain the courses except program revenues generated by these provisions. The bill would prohibit districts from allowing extension credit courses to supplant courses funded with state apportionments and from reducing certain state-funded course sections with the intent of reestablishing those course sections as part of an extension program. The bill would also prohibit extension credit courses from being conducted in a manner that supplants the use of district instructional space for courses funded with state apportionments.

This bill would allow community college districts to establish fees not to exceed the actual costs of the courses, as defined, and would require administrative costs to be minimized to the greatest extent possible. The bill would also require state and federal financial aid to be available to eligible students participating in the program and would require a district governing board to provide for fee waivers, as specified. Each participating district would be required to collect and keep records relating to the extension program and submit them, and a schedule of course fees, to the chancellor by October 1 of each year. This information would, in turn, be submitted by the chancellor to the Legislative Analyst by November 1 of each year. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst to submit a written report on the pilot program to the Legislature by January 1, 2015, summarizing the information provided by the chancellor, assessing compliance of the program with the Legislature’s intent, and suggesting any needed statutory improvements.

The bill would make the requirement for a report to the Legislature inoperative on July 1, 2016. This act would remain operative only until July 1, 2016, unless that date is deleted or extended.