Pupil attendance at community colleges: College and Career Access Pathways partnerships: county offices of education.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to authorize a pupil who meets specified criteria to attend community college. Existing law limits the number of pupils a principal is authorized to recommend for a community college summer session pursuant to those provisions to 5% of the total number of pupils in any grade level, as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, exempts from the 5% limitation pupils who meet specified requirements, prohibits the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges from including enrollment growth attributable to pupils enrolled pursuant to these provisions as part of its annual budget request for the California Community Colleges, and requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to report to the Department of Finance the number of pupils who enrolled and received a passing grade in a community college summer session course under these provisions. This bill would extend those provisions indefinitely. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. Existing law requires a CCAP partnership agreement to, among other things, certify that any remedial course taught by community college faculty at a partnering high school campus to be offered only to high school pupils who do not meet their grade level standard in mathematics, English, or both on an interim assessment in grade 10 or 11, as determined by the partnering school district or county office of education, and to involve a collaborative effort between high school and community college faculty to deliver an innovative remediation course as an intervention in the pupil's junior or senior year to ensure that the pupil is prepared for college-level work upon graduation. Existing law limits the statewide number of full-time equivalent students claimed as special admits to 10% of the total number of full-time equivalent students claimed statewide. This bill would specify that "high school," for purposes of a CCAP partnership, includes a community school, juvenile court school, or adult education program, as specified. The bill would authorize county offices of education to enter into CCAP partnerships with the governing boards of community college districts in accordance with these provisions. The bill would require the above-described certification requirement for certain remedial courses to instead apply to certain pretransfer-level courses, as provided. The bill would extend the provisions authorizing CCAP partnerships indefinitely and would remove the statewide limit for full-time equivalent students claimed as special admits. The bill would also make nonsubstantive conforming changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 76004 of the Education Code proposed by AB 2973 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2973 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.