A financial and professional development grant funding
program, administered by the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges, is hereby established. The chancellor shall distribute
multiyear grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
governing boards of community college districts pursuant to
applications that satisfy the requirements of this part. Moneys
allocated pursuant to this program shall be expended for community
colleges within a district that receives a grant to adopt or expand
the use of evidence-based models of academic assessment and
placement, remediation, and student support that accelerate the
progress of underprepared students toward achieving postsecondary
educational and career goals.
(a) (1) The governing board of a community college district
may apply for funds pursuant to this part for the purpose of making
more effective, evidence-based practices available to more
underprepared students who enroll at campuses of the California
Community Colleges. A community college within the district may
receive funds to implement these evidence-based practices for the
first time or to expand to additional students any evidence-based
practices that are in effect as of the date of the district's
application for funds.
(2) Community colleges may use funds allocated pursuant to this
part to support remedial education curriculum redesign, professional
development and release time for faculty, and support staff as
appropriate, and data collection and reporting.
(b) The evidence-based practices implemented or expanded pursuant
to funding received as specified in subdivision (a) shall include
basic skills improvement strategies that have demonstrated
effectiveness in accelerating the progress of underprepared students
toward, and increasing the number of underprepared students who
successfully achieve in a timely manner, one or both of the following
goals:
(1) Completing a college-level English or mathematics course, or
both, within a sequence of three or fewer courses after enrollment in
a community college, to prepare students for college-level work.
(2) Earning an industry-relevant college certificate or degree
within two years.
(a) In order to receive a grant, the governing board of a
community college district shall demonstrate in its application for
funding, consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 88805, that the
community colleges that are to participate in the grant program will
redesign their curriculum, career pathways, assessment and placement
procedures, or any combination thereof, to implement, or
significantly expand the use or application of, two or more of the
following evidence-based practices and principles:
(1) Adopting placement tests or other student assessment
indicators and related policies that may include multiple measures of
student performance, including grades in high school courses,
especially overall grade point average, results from the common
assessment system, and input from counselors.
(2) Increasing the placement of students directly in gateway
English and mathematics courses that are transferable to the
University of California or the California State University and
career pathways, with remedial instruction integrated as appropriate
for underprepared students.
(3) Aligning content in remedial courses with the students'
programs of academic or vocational study to target students' actual
needs and increase relevance. This paragraph is intended to encourage
the development of remedial instruction focused on a student's
identified academic need informed by the student's intended course of
study.
(4) Contextualizing remedial instruction in foundational skills
for the industry cluster, pathways, or both, in which the student
seeks to advance.
(5) Providing proactive student support services that are
integrated with the instruction provided.
(6) Developing two- and three-course sequences, as appropriate,
for completion of a college-level English or mathematics course, or
both, for underprepared students, by either utilizing technology,
where appropriate, to enhance the adoption of the high impact
practices specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, or
implementing other effective basic skills course strategies and
practices not specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, subject
to the college providing evidence that substantiates the practice is
effective.
(b) Community colleges are encouraged to collaborate with local
school districts serving kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
to better articulate English and math instruction between the high
schools and the community colleges.
(c) Each participating community college shall be responsible for
all of the following:
(1) Developing a plan based on two or more of the evidence-based
principles and practices described in subdivision (a) that
demonstrates a clear strategy for ensuring that both of the following
occur within a five-year period:
(A) A progressively increasing share of the students who enroll at
participating community colleges within the community college
district achieve the goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section
88805.
(B) A significantly greater share of entering students who are
enrolled at the community college achieve the goals listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 88805 within a shorter time period than
before the implementation of the plan at the community college.
(2) Ensuring that the plan developed pursuant to paragraph (1)
does all the following:
(A) Describes the community college's current practices with
regard to the selected high impact practices and its readiness to
implement the new interventions.
(B) Articulates targets for the share of entering students
projected to be served by these interventions over the three-year
implementation period.
(C) Sets goals for the share of entering students who complete a
college-level English or mathematics course within three semesters or
less after enrollment.
(D) Identifies key strategies and implementation benchmarks for
evaluating the progress of campus efforts to implement the selected
interventions.
(E) Details the number of campus faculty likely to be involved in
all selected high impact interventions and the plan for addressing
their professional and technical assistance needs.
(3) Ensuring that its faculty participate in professional
development regarding academic programs or new curriculum developed
or expanded pursuant to the plan, using grant funds to support that
faculty participation.
(4) Commencing in the year that a community college receives a
grant and for the following three fiscal years, annually reporting to
the chancellor's office on program outcomes, disaggregated by the
demographic characteristics, high school grade point average, and
initial placement level of its students, for purposes of measuring
progress compared to the community college's performance before its
implementation of the plan. These reports should include all of the
following:
(A) The total number and percentage of entering students
identified as underprepared before receipt of the grant.
(B) The number and percentage of entering students served by the
grant program, disaggregated by type of practice implemented.
(C) The number and percentage of entering students achieving the
goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section 88805.
(D) The number of faculty involved and faculty needs regarding the
adoption and operation of courses under the plan.
(E) If applicable, a narrative describing any subsequent
adjustments to the design of the college's basic skills course
practices or strategies adopted pursuant to paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a).
(F) A description of any additional or expanded student supports
offered.
(G) A narrative describing the community college's efforts to
collaborate with local school districts serving kindergarten and
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to better articulate English and math
instruction between the high schools and the community colleges.
(5) These plans should be developed in consultation with campus
faculty.
(d) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges shall be responsible for all of the following:
(1) Developing application criteria, administrative guidelines,
and other requirements for purposes of administering the grant
program. Applications that would do one or both of the following
shall be given priority consideration within the application
criteria:
(A) Scale up existing practices.
(B) Provide services to greater proportions of students.
(2) Administering the grant program and distributing and
monitoring awards to recipient community college districts.
(3) Providing the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (4)
of subdivision (c) to the Legislative Analyst's Office.
(e) (1) The Legislative Analyst's Office shall aggregate, analyze,
and report the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (d) to the Legislature on the progress of the grant
program in achieving its prescribed purpose. The Legislative Analyst'
s Office shall issue an interim report by December 1, 2019, and a
final report by December 1, 2021.
(2) (A) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this
subdivision is inoperative on July 1, 2026, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.