Bill Text: CA AB1891 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1891

Bill Title: Community colleges: allied health programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-10 - In committee: Referred to suspense file. [AB1891 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1891-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate May 20, 2024

Amended IN Assembly March 14, 2024

Amended IN Assembly February 27, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1891

Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

January 22, 2024

An act to add and repeal Article 3.54 (commencing with Section 78263) of Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1891, as amended, Weber. Community colleges: allied health programs.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, under the administration of community college district governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at the community college campuses they operate.

This bill would authorize a community college allied health program, as defined, if, after using an approved diagnostic assessment tool, it determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, to use additional multicriteria screening measures. The bill would authorize a community college allied health program to use any diagnostic assessment tool that is commonly used in allied health programs and is approved by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. The bill would prohibit a community college district from excluding an applicant to an allied health program on the basis that the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district, and from implementing policies, procedures, and systems that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from the district’s allied health program.

This bill would authorize a community college allied health program that determines the number of applicants exceeds its capacity to admit students in accordance with the administration of a multicriteria screening process, a random selection process, or a blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process. The bill would require a community college allied health program that elects to use a multicriteria screening process, including a blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process, to evaluate applicants for admission using specified criteria relating to the applicant’s academic performance, work or volunteer experience, foreign language skills, life experiences, and special circumstances, among other criteria. The bill would authorize a community college allied health program using a multicriteria screening process to use an approved diagnostic assessment tool before, during, or after the multicriteria screening process. The bill would require a community college allied health program that uses a multicriteria screening process to report its allied health program admissions policies to the chancellor annually, in writing. The bill would require the chancellor to submit a report, on or before March 1, 2026, and each March 1 thereafter, to the Legislature and the Governor that examines and includes certain information, including the participation, retention, and completion rates in community college allied health programs of students admitted through a multicriteria screening process, as specified.

This bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Article 3.54 (commencing with Section 78263) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

Article 3.54. Allied Health Programs

78263.

As used in this article, “allied health program” means a community college program that offers certificates or degrees related to allied health professionals, as defined in Section 295p of Title 42 of the United States Code.

78263.1.

(a) A community college allied health program that determines that the number of applicants to that program exceeds its capacity may admit students in accordance with any of the following procedures:

(1) Administration of a multicriteria screening process, if authorized by Section 78263.2, in a manner that is consistent with the standards set forth in subdivision (b).

(2) A random selection process.

(3) A blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process.

(b) A community college allied health program that elects to use a multicriteria screening process, including a blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process, to evaluate applicants pursuant to this article shall apply those measures in accordance with all of the following:

(1) The criteria applied in a multicriteria screening process under this article shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following criteria:

(A) Academic degrees or diplomas, or relevant certificates, held by an applicant.

(B) Grade point average in relevant coursework.

(D) Life experiences or special circumstances of an applicant, including, but not limited to, any, or any combination of, the following experiences or circumstances:

(i) Disabilities.

(ii) Low family income.

(iii) First generation of family to attend college.

(iv) Need to work.

(v) Disadvantaged social or educational environment.

(vi) Difficult personal and family situations or circumstances.

(vii) Refugee or veteran status.

(viii) Living in a medically underserved area or population, as designated by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

(E) Proficiency or advanced level coursework in languages other than English. Credit for languages other than English shall be received for languages that are identified by the chancellor as high-frequency languages, as based on census data. These languages may include, but are not limited to, any of the following languages:

(i) American Sign Language.

(ii) Arabic.

(iii) Chinese, including its various dialects.

(iv) Farsi.

(v) Russian.

(vi) Spanish.

(vii) Tagalog.

(viii) The various languages of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

(ix) The various languages of the African continent.

(2) Additional criteria, such as a personal interview, a personal statement, letter of recommendation, or the number of repetitions of prerequisite classes, or other criteria, as approved by the chancellor, may be used, but are not required.

(3) A community college allied health program using a multicriteria screening process under this article may use an approved diagnostic assessment tool, in accordance with Section 78263.2, before, during, or after the multicriteria screening process.

(c) A community college allied health program that uses a multicriteria screening process pursuant to this article shall report its allied health program admissions policies to the chancellor annually, in writing. The admissions policies reported under this subdivision shall include the weight given to any criteria used by the program, and shall include demographic information relating to both the persons admitted to the program and the persons of that group who successfully completed that program.

(d) The chancellor is encouraged to develop and make available to community college allied health programs by July 1, 2025, a model admissions process based on this section.

(e) (1) The chancellor shall submit a report on or before March 1, 2026, and each March 1 thereafter, to the Legislature and the Governor that examines and includes, but is not limited to, both of the following:

(A) The participation, retention, and completion rates in community college allied health programs of students admitted through a multicriteria screening process, as described in this section, disaggregated by the age, gender, ethnicity, and language spoken at the home of those students.

(B) Information on the annual impact, if any, the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, established pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 78210), had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multicriteria screening process, as described in this section.

(2) The chancellor may incorporate the annual report required in paragraph (1) into the annual report required by subdivision (d) of Section 78261.5.

(3) The chancellor shall submit the annual report required in paragraph (1) in conjunction with its annual report required by subdivision (h) of Section 78261.

(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Disabilities” has the same meaning as used in Section 2626 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

(2) “Disadvantaged social or educational environment” includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the status of a student who has participated in Extended Opportunity Programs and Services.

(3) “Grade point average” refers to the same fixed set of required prerequisite courses that all applicants to the allied health program administering the multicriteria screening process are required to complete.

(4) “Low family income” shall be measured by a community college allied health program in terms of a student’s eligibility for, or receipt of, financial aid under a program that may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a fee waiver from the board of governors under Section 76300, the Cal Grant Program under Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42 of Division 5, the federal Pell Grant program, or CalWORKs.

(5) “Need to work” means that the student is working at least part time while completing academic work that is a prerequisite for admission to the allied health program.

78263.2.

Notwithstanding any other law:

(a) A community college district may use any diagnostic assessment tool that is commonly used in allied health programs and is approved by the chancellor.

(b) If, after using an approved diagnostic assessment tool, a community college allied health program determines that the number of applicants to that program exceeds its capacity, the program may use additional multicriteria screening measures. This subdivision does not prohibit or prevent a community college allied health program from using an approved diagnostic assessment tool before or during a multicriteria screening process.

(1) Exclude an applicant to an allied health program on the basis that the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district.

(2) Implement policies, procedures, and systems, including, but not limited to, priority registration systems, that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from an allied health program of that district.