SB520--April 25, 2013 Version

Amended  IN  Senate  April 25, 2013

Amended  IN  Senate  April 17, 2013

Amended  IN  Senate  April 01, 2013

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2013–2014 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 520

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Introduced  by  Senator Steinberg (Principal Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Garcia)

February 21, 2013

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An act to amend Sections 78910.10 and 78910.30 of, and to add Section 66409.3 to, the Education Code, relating to student instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 520, as amended, Steinberg. Student instruction: California Online Student Access Platform.

(1) The Donahoe Higher Education Act authorizes the activities of the 4 segments of the postsecondary education system in the state. These segments include the 3 public postsecondary segments: the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Private and independent postsecondary educational institutions constitute the other segment.

Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by resolution, to make them applicable.

This bill would establish the California Online Student Access Platform under the administration of the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, jointly, with the academic senates of the respective segments. The bill would require the platform, among other things, to provide an efficient statewide mechanism for online course providers to offer transferable courses for credit and to create a pool of these online courses. The bill would require the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, jointly, with the academic senates of the respective segments, to develop a list of the 50 most impacted lower division courses, as defined, at the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges that are deemed necessary for program completion, or deemed satisfactory for meeting general education requirements, or in areas defined as high-demand transferable lower division courses under the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum and, for each of those 50 courses, to promote the availability of multiple high-quality. For these causes, the bill would require the president, chancellors, and senates to jointly facilitate certain intersegmental and intrasegmental partnerships and partnerships between online course technology providers and faculty of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, as a method to achieve the goal of significantly increasing online course options, as specified options for students for the fall term of the 2014—15 academic year.

The bill would require the online courses approved by the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, jointly, with the academic senates of the respective segments, under the bill through the platform to be placed in the California Virtual Campus. The bill would require that matriculated students of campuses of the University of California, California State University, or California Community Colleges, and California high school pupils, who complete online courses developed through the platform and achieve a passing score on corresponding course examinations, be awarded full academic credit for an equivalent course at the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges, as applicable.

The bill would provide that funding for the implementation of this provision would be provided in the annual Budget Act, and express the intent of the Legislature that the receipt of funding by the University of California for the implementation of this provision be contingent on its compliance with its requirements. Because

The bill would prohibit public funds from being used to fund any private aspect of a partnership developed under the bill between faculty of the University of California, California State University, or the California Community Colleges and an online course technology provider. This bill would provide that the state would retain all appropriate rights to intellectual property it creates or develops in the implementation of the bill.

Because this provision would require community colleges to award academic credit under these circumstances, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law, until January 1, 2014, establishes the California Virtual Campus to facilitate ongoing collaboration and joint efforts relating to the use of technology resources and high-speed Internet connectivity to support teaching, learning, workforce development, and research. Existing law, until January 1, 2014, authorizes the California Virtual Campus grant recipient to convene at least 4 leadership stakeholder group meetings annually comprised of representatives from the State Department of Education, the California Technology Assistance Project, and other related programs administered through the department, including adult education, local education agencies, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, independent colleges and universities, the California State Library, and representatives from community-based organizations to ensure the efforts affecting segments represented are appropriately meeting the needs of those segments.

This bill would extend the provisions establishing the California Virtual Campus until January 1, 2017. This bill would require the representatives in the stakeholder group meetings from the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California to include, but not be limited to, faculty members from these institutions. This bill would make additional nonsubstantive changes in these provisions. By requiring faculty members from community college districts to attend these meetings, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) 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 these statutory provisions.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) In recent years, California’s public higher education institutions have faced skyrocketing demand for enrollment at a time when they lack capacity to provide students with access to courses necessary for program completion and success.

(b) In the 2012–13 academic year, 85 percent of California Community Colleges (CCC) reported having waiting lists for their fall 2012 course sections, with a statewide average of more than 7,000 students on waiting lists per college.

(c) Similarly, impacted courses have contributed significantly to difficulties within the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems, with figures indicating that only 60 percent and 16 percent of students, respectively, are able to earn a degree within four years, with lack of access to key courses a factor in increased time-to-degree.

(d) With rapidly developing innovation in online course delivery models, California’s public institutions of higher education have a unique opportunity to meet critical demands for enrollment and reduce time-to-degree by providing students with access to high-quality, alternative, online pathways to successfully complete and obtain credit for the most impacted lower division courses.

(e) California could significantly benefit from a statutorily enacted, quality-first, faculty-led framework that increases partnerships between faculty and online course technology providers aimed at allowing students in strategically selected lower division areas to take online courses for credit at the UC, CSU, and CCC systems. While providing easy access to these courses, these systems could also continually assess the value of the courses and the rates of student success in utilizing these alternative online pathways.

SEC. 2.

 Section 66409.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66409.3.

 (a) The California Online Student Access Platformis hereby established. The platform shall be developed and administered by the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, jointly, with the academic senates of the respective segments. As used in this section, “platform” means the California Online Student Access Platform established by this section.

(b) The platform shall solicit, develop, and promote facilitate appropriate partnerships including, but not necessarily limited to, intersegmental and intrasegmental partnerships developed pursuant to Section 66950 and partnerships between online course providers and faculty members of the University of California, California State University, and the California Community Colleges for the development and deployment of high-quality online options for strategically selected lower division courses. The platform shall accomplish all of the following objectives:

(1) Provide an efficient statewide mechanism for online course providers, in partnership with facilitation of intersegmental and intrasegmental partnerships developed pursuant to Section 66950 and appropriate partnerships between faculty members of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, and online course technology providers to offer transferable courses for credit.

(2) Create a pool of up to 50 approved and transferable online courses for credit through which students seeking to enroll may easily access those courses and related content.

(3) Provide a state-level faculty-led process that places the highest priority on educational quality through which online courses can be subjected to high-quality standards and review.

(4) Allow the state, the public, students, faculty, and other stakeholders to examine student success rates within the platform.

(c) For purposes of accomplishing all of the objectives of the platform as specified in subdivision (b), the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, jointly, with the academic senates of the respective segments, shall do all of the following:

(1) (A) Develop a list of the 50 most impacted lower division courses at the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges that are deemed necessary for program completion , or deemed satisfactory for meeting general education requirements, or in areas defined as high-demand transferable lower division courses under the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum.

(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “impacted lower division course” means a course in which, during most academic terms, the number of students seeking to enroll in the course exceeds the number of spaces available in the course.

(2) (A)For each of the 50 courses For any of the courses that meet the criteria identified under paragraph (1), solicit and promote appropriate facilitate partnerships, including, but not necessarily limited to, intersegmental and intrasegmental partnerships developed pursuant to Section 66950 and partnerships between online course technology providers and faculty of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges which, by with the goal of significantly increasing online course options for students for the fall term of the 2014–15 academic year, shall result in the availability of multiple high-quality online course options in which students may enroll in that term. year.

(B)An online course developed pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to meet the lower division transfer and degree requirements for the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.

(3) Create and administer a standardized review and approval process for online courses in which most or all course instruction is delivered online developed pursuant to paragraph (2) for matriculated students of the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges, or and for California high school pupils. No course shall be approved for purposes of this section unless the course has associated with it a faculty sponsor who is a member of the faculty of the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges and is approved by the academic senate of the appropriate segment. An online course developed pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to meet the lower division transfer and degree requirements for the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.

(4) When online courses are reviewed pursuant to this section, at a minimum, the extent to which each course does the following shall be considered:

(A) Provides students with instructional support and related services to promote retention and success.

(B) Provides students with interaction with instructors and other students.

(C) Contains a proctored student assessment and examination process that ensures academic integrity and satisfactorily measures student learning.

(D) Provides a student with an opportunity to assess the extent to which he or she is suited for online learning prior to enrolling.

(E) Utilizes, as the primary course text or as a wholly acceptable alternative, content, where it exists, from the California Digital Open Source Library established pursuant to Section 66408.

(F) Includes adaptive learning technology systems or comparable technologies that can provide significant improvement in the learning of students.

(5) Regularly solicit and consider solicits from each of the respective statewide student associations of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, and considers, advice and guidance on implementation of the platform.

(6) Collect, review, and make public data and other information related to student success within the platform by gathering and reporting data on accepted student success metrics, including, but not necessarily limited to, student enrollment in approved online courses through the platform, and student retention and completion rates.

(7) Utilize the state’s current common course numbering system for approved courses so as to simplify the identification and articulation of comparable courses.

(d) Online courses approved through the platform pursuant to this section shall be placed in the California Virtual Campus, through which students may access the courses. A matriculated student of a campus of the University of California, California State University, or California Community Colleges, or a California high school pupil, who completes an online course developed through the platform and achieves a passing score on the corresponding course examination shall be awarded full academic credit for an equivalent course at the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges, as applicable.

(e) Funding for the implementation of this section shall be provided in the annual Budget Act. It is the intent of the Legislature that, notwithstanding Section 67400, the receipt of funding by the University of California for the implementation of this section be contingent on its compliance with the requirements of this section.

(f) No public funds shall be used to fund any private aspect of a partnership developed pursuant to this section between faculty of the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges and an online course technology provider.

(g) The state shall retain all appropriate rights to intellectual property it creates or develops in the implementation of this section.

SEC. 3.

 Section 78910.10 of the Education Code is amended to read:

78910.10.

 (a) (1) The California Virtual Campus, pursuant to funding provided to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, may pursue all of the following purposes, to the extent funding is available:

(A) To enrich formal and informal educational experiences and improve students’ academic performance by supporting the development of highly engaging, research-based innovations in teaching and learning in K–12 public schools and the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California.

(B) To enhance the awareness of, and access to, highly engaging online courses of study, emphasizing courses of study that support a diverse and highly skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce.

(C) To support education research, the implementation of research-based practices, and promote economic development through the use of next generation advanced network infrastructure, services, and network technologies that enable collaboration and resource sharing between formal and informal educators in K–12 public schools, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, independent colleges and universities, public libraries, and community-based organizations at locations across the state.

(D) To increase access to next generation Internet services, 21st century workforce development programs, and e-government services for students and staff served or employed by education entities and students served primarily online through partnerships with public libraries and community-based organizations.

(E) To enhance access to health care education and training programs to current or future health care workers.

(F) To manage digital assets and develop contracts for services necessary to provide the technical and management support needed to maximize the benefits of the high-speed, high-bandwidth network infrastructure available to public higher education entities in California.

(G) Through the aggregation of demand for network enabled technologies and related services from public education entities, and through partnerships with the private sector, to provide education entities with access to technical support and staff who can facilitate statewide efforts that support innovations in teaching and learning that are necessary to provide for a well-educated citizenry, and economic and 21st century workforce development.

(2) To accomplish the purposes of paragraph (1), the California Virtual Campus may partner with local educational agencies, the State Department of Education, the 11 regional California Technology Assistance Projects, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, independent colleges and universities, public libraries, and community-based organizations to facilitate ongoing collaboration and joint efforts relating to the use of technology resources and high-speed Internet connectivity to support teaching, learning, workforce development, and research.

(3) Efforts conducted as a result of this chapter shall not prohibit or otherwise exclude the ability of existing or new educational technology programs from being developed, expanded, or enhanced.

(b) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Online courses of study” means any of the following:

(A) Online teaching, learning, and research resources, including, but not necessarily limited to, books, course materials, video materials, interactive lessons, tests, or software, the copyrights of which have expired, or have been released with an intellectual property license that permits their free use or repurposing by others without the permission of the original authors or creators of the learning materials or resources.

(B) Professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators who desire to use the resources in subparagraph (A).

(C) Online instruction.

(2) “Online instruction” means technology enabled online real time (synchronous) interaction between the instructor and the student, near time (asynchronous) interaction between the instructor and the student, or any combination thereof.

(c) The California Virtual Campus grant recipient may accomplish all of the following:

(1) Convene at least four leadership stakeholder group meetings annually composed of representatives from the State Department of Education, the California Technology Assistance Project, and other related programs administered through the department, including adult education, local education agencies, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, independent colleges and universities, the California State Library, and representatives from community-based organizations to ensure the efforts affecting segments represented are appropriately meeting the needs of those segments. The leadership stakeholder group shall also coordinate and obtain assistance with the implementation of efforts delineated in this article, to identify and maintain an up-to-date list of the technology resources and tools that are necessary to support innovation in teaching and learning, and to identify opportunities for leveraging resources and expertise for meeting those needs in an efficient and cost-effective manner. For purposes of this paragraph, the representatives from the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California shall include, but not be limited to, faculty members from these institutions.

(2) Lead efforts to make online courses of study available across the state that include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) Developing online courses of study that are pedagogically sound and fully accessible, in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (Public Law 101-336), by students with varying learning styles and disabilities.

(i) The development of K–12 online courses pursuant to this subparagraph shall be achieved in partnership with local education agencies and the California Technology Assistance Project.

(ii) Online courses developed for grades K–12 pursuant to this subparagraph shall be aligned to the California academic content standards and guidelines for online courses.

(B) Overseeing the development of at least 12 model online courses of study that, collectively, would allow students to meet the requirements of the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) and at least two courses that support basic skills education courses in English, English as a second language, or mathematics.

(C) Encouraging the entities listed in paragraph (1) to do both of the following:

(i) Make accessible to each other their courses of study that are funded by the state.

(ii) Allow their courses of study to be accessible to the general public if they determine access would not inhibit their ability to provide appropriate protection of the state’s intellectual property rights.

(3) Ensure that the learning objects created as part of the California Virtual Campus online courses of study with state General Fund revenues are linked to digital content libraries that include information about course content freely available to California educators and students.

(4) Develop formal partnership agreements between the entities listed in paragraph (1) and the California Virtual Campus, including course articulation agreements that allow qualified high school students to accelerate the completion of requirements for a high school diploma and a two-year or four-year degree and agreements that provide opportunities for part-time faculty teaching online to obtain full-time employment teaching online.

(5) Develop formal partnership agreements with the entities listed in paragraph (1) and others to enhance access to professional development courses that introduce faculty, teachers, staff, and college course developers to the conceptual development, creation, and production methodologies that underlie the development of online courses of study and support students’ successful completion of those courses. The professional development opportunities may include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(A) Addressing issues relating to copyright, permission for the use or reuse of material, use of resources in the public domain, and other intellectual property concepts.

(B) Accessibility for students with disabilities.

(C) Factors to ensure that content is culturally relevant to a diverse student body.

(D) Delivery options that incorporate multiple learning styles and strategies.

(6) Develop formal partnership agreements with entities, including, but not limited to, those listed in paragraph (1), to ensure access to online professional learning communities that incorporate the use of Internet-based collaboration tools and to support joint discussions between K–12 educators, higher education faculty and staff, and others to examine student performance data, student learning objectives, curriculum, and other issues that relate to students’ academic success and preparation for the workforce.

(7) In partnership with entities, including those listed in paragraph (1), develop an e-portfolio system that allows participating students to demonstrate their attainment of academic learning objectives, skills and knowledge that relate to their career interests, and completion of prerequisites for participation in courses or training programs. The e-portfolio system may do all of the following:

(A) Ensure that student privacy is protected in accordance with existing law.

(B) Comply with accessibility laws for students with disabilities.

(C) Be designed in a manner that supports the use of e-portfolio content in the accreditation requirements of schools, colleges, and universities.

(8) In partnership with entities, including those listed in paragraph (1), identify opportunities to enhance students’ access to medical education and medical services through the use of high-speed Internet connections to the campuses, and opportunities for education programs and services to support the telehealth efforts taking place within the state.

(d) The lead agency for the California Virtual Campus, in consultation with the leadership stakeholder group described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) if that group is convened by the California Virtual Campus grant recipient, shall contract with an independent third party with expertise in online teaching, learning, and the development of online courses of study, as approved by the board, to evaluate the California Virtual Campus. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, an assessment of the number of faculty, teachers, consortia, informal educators, and students that use the online courses of study, the quality of students’ experiences, student grades earned, and the cost of the online course content, comparing the online course content with traditional textbooks. The board may require additional information that it determines to be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness and viability of the California Virtual Campus. This evaluation shall be submitted to the Legislature no later than three years after the enactment of this act.

SEC. 4.

 Section 78910.30 of the Education Code is amended to read:

78910.30.

 This article shall remain in effect until January 1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 5.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.