74292-74296
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 74292-74296
74292. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following steps shall be taken to address the imminent risk that Compton Community College's accreditation will be terminated by the regional accrediting body recognized by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges: (a) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges is authorized to oversee all actions at the Compton Community College District related to the loss of the college's accreditation and efforts described in this article to address that situation. The Compton Community College District shall reimburse the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for any expenses incurred by the chancellor or his or her staff in carrying out this oversight responsibility. (b) The Compton Community College District shall complete the provision of instruction for all classes for which it intends to claim apportionment prior to the date of its loss of accreditation. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Compton Community College District shall continue to be eligible to receive state funding as provided in this article even if its accreditation is terminated. (d) (1) The Compton Community College District shall identify a partner district that will agree to provide accredited instructional programs to students residing in the Compton Community College District. The special trustee assigned to the Compton Community College District pursuant to Section 71093 and the partner district are authorized to enter into one or more agreements to provide instructional services or other services, and to make any other necessary preparations to implement the educational programs described in this article, as well as any related necessary administrative or support services, in a timely manner so as to ensure that services to Compton Community College students will not be interrupted and that those students will remain eligible for federal financial assistance. The agreement or agreements shall provide that the partner district is entitled to receive a reasonable administrative fee to be fixed by the mutual agreement of the parties. (2) The partner district shall be a district in good standing with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), and shall have successfully completed the accreditation cycle and secured accreditation for its colleges. A district with a college that is on warning, probation, or show-cause status with the ACCJC, or that is being monitored for fiscal stability by the chancellor's office is not considered a district in good standing for the purposes of this article. (e) The partner district may offer any programs or courses for which it has secured applicable approvals. In addition, any programs and courses that were previously approved by the board of governors to be offered by the Compton Community College District may continue to be offered by the partner district in the territory of the Compton Community College District without additional state approval until June 30, 2011. (f) No later than 30 days after Compton Community College's loss of accreditation, the board of governors shall approve the facilities of Compton Community College as an off-campus educational center of the partner district. The center shall be known as the Compton Community Educational Center. The board of governors shall give notice of its approval to the county committee and county superintendent having jurisdiction over any territory affected by the action. (g) The board of governors may permanently or temporarily waive any of its regulatory requirements necessary to effectuate this article, including, but not necessarily limited to, its regulations regarding educational centers. (h) The partner district is eligible to provide instruction at the center without the recommendation of the California Postsecondary Education Commission under Section 66904 until the district secures the commission's recommendation for the facility to operate as an off-campus educational center or until June 30, 2011, whichever occurs first. (i) The partner district shall comply with all federal requirements to ensure that students taking classes offered by the partner district at the Compton Community Educational Center remain eligible for federal financial assistance. (j) Students enrolled in the Compton Community College District as of January 31, 2006, shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) The partner district shall ensure that any student who, by the end of the Spring 2006 term, has completed at least 75 percent of the courses required for the degree or certificate he or she is pursuing will be able to complete that program. Every reasonable effort shall be made to allow other students who have begun work toward a certificate or degree, but who have not completed 75 percent of the required coursework, to continue and complete their programs. (2) Students enrolling in classes provided by the partner district pursuant to this section shall be considered students of the partner district, shall receive credit from the partner district for classes they successfully complete, shall receive certificates or degrees they earn from the partner district, and shall receive financial aid through the partner district if they meet all applicable eligibility requirements. (3) The partner district shall maintain student records related to the attendance of students in classes it offers pursuant to this section in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws. (4) The partner district shall consider each student who enrolls for classes no later than the Spring 2007 term to be a continuing student for purposes of enrollment priorities. (5) Any regulations of the board of governors relating to minimum residence at the college granting a degree shall not be applicable. (k) The board of governors shall adopt any regulations necessary to implement this article. These regulations may be adopted as emergency regulations that may remain in effect for up to one year from the date of adoption, and shall not be subject to paragraph (5) or (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5 or to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (l) (1) The partner district shall provide the services described in this article for a minimum of five years from the date those services commence pursuant to subdivision (d), and shall thereafter provide the services for any additional period determined necessary by the board of governors. In addition, the board of governors may require, in its sole discretion, that the services described herein be modified or terminated at an earlier date based on the best interests of the California Community Colleges system and its students. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), either the partner district or the special trustee appointed pursuant to Section 71093 may initiate termination of the agreements described in subdivision (d) by giving 180 days' written notice to the other party and to the board of governors. No termination pursuant to this subdivision may take effect until the end of the semester following the notice provided under this paragraph, so as to protect students from a mid-term interruption of educational services. Should the partner district provide notice of a desire to terminate any agreements at a time when the trustee determines that services provided under those agreements are still necessary to serve the interests of Compton students and residents or at a time when the Compton Community College District is not fully accredited and bonds issued pursuant to Section 41329.52 are outstanding, the partner district shall continue the services until it can secure a district to provide uninterrupted comparable services to the satisfaction of the special trustee. (m) (1) The Compton Community College District shall continue to be responsible for ensuring that all of its permanent records are retained and stored as required by state law and that all records related to its administration of programs under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act are retained for a minimum of three years after the conclusion of its participation in those programs. (2) The Compton Community College District shall be responsible for institutional actions related to the loss of accreditation, including actions that are required under Section 688.26 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, related to the ending of the participation of the Compton Community College District in programs under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act, refunding any students' unearned tuition and fees, refunding to the federal government any unexpended federal student financial aid funds, returning to lenders any loan proceeds not distributed to students, or the collection of outstanding student debts to the Compton Community College District. (n) In addition to addressing the ongoing educational needs of the students of the Compton Community College District, the partner district and the special trustee appointed pursuant to Section 71093 shall take steps aimed at achieving the goal of seeking renewed accreditation for Compton Community College at the earliest feasible date. Progress toward achieving this goal shall be periodically reported to the board of governors. (o) No person, firm or organization shall, without the permission of the Compton Community College District, use the name "Compton Community College," or any name of which these words are a part, or any abbreviation thereof. 74292.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, so long as any bond issued pursuant to Section 63049.67 of the Government Code for the Compton Community College District is outstanding, all real property leases securing those bonds shall be leased by the Compton Community College District, and not the Compton Community Educational Center or any partner district. 74292.7. Cal Grant awards to students of the Compton Community College District shall not be adversely affected by this article. 74293. Notwithstanding any other provision of law: (a) The partner district shall provide educational programs, as described in Section 74292, at the Compton Community Educational Center on the following terms: (1) To the extent determined necessary by agreement between the Compton Community College District and the partner district, the Compton Community College District shall assign its current employees, or reemploy former employees, to provide educational or support services to students under the instructional services or other agreements described in Section 74292. The Compton Community College District has no obligation to assign or to reemploy persons who occupy or previously occupied administrative or supervisory positions to those positions. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who provides services pursuant to this paragraph shall not be deemed to be an employee of the partner district or gain any status with the partner district for any purpose. (2) Individuals providing educational or support services pursuant to paragraph (1) who serve as academic employees or educational administrators shall meet applicable minimum qualifications established by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges as well as any other job-related qualifications for service that are established by the partner district. (3) The partner district shall have the primary right to direct activities under the contract or contracts in a manner that is consistent with the role of Compton Community College District as the employer of the individuals who are assigned duties under the agreements by the partner district. The partner district shall provide performance assessments to the special trustee appointed pursuant to Section 71093 regarding the services provided by employees of the Compton Community College District. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the Compton Community College District to employ employees of any type or class as otherwise authorized by law as needed to provide necessary services. (c) The Compton Community College District shall continue to be responsible for all retiree benefits that it offered its employees prior to the date of its loss of accreditation and for retirement and other benefits for its employees assigned to provide services pursuant to subdivision (a). The partner district shall have no responsibility for any retiree or other benefits for persons provided by the Compton Community College District to serve under instructional services or other agreements described in this article. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the partner district to assign its existing personnel to oversee or manage services provided under instructional services or other agreements described in Section 74292 or to employ employees of any type or class as otherwise authorized by law as needed to provide oversight and management of those services. Any person who provides services pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to be an employee of the Compton Community College District or gain any status with that district for any purpose, and that person shall not lose any rights, benefits, or status that he or she had previously acquired with the partner district. (e) Nothing in this article shall be construed to interfere with, or require any change in, the existing bargaining units and collective bargaining agreements of the Compton Community College District. (f) All existing statutory due process protections for employees of the Compton Community College District shall remain in effect including, but not necessarily limited to, the provisions governing layoff or dismissal, acquisition of tenure, and all other provisions of the Education Code except as expressly provided in this article. (g) Nothing in this article shall be construed to interfere with or preclude negotiations with employee organizations in either of the districts over the effects, if any, of the partner district's operation of the Compton Community College District. 74295. Notwithstanding any other provision of law: (a) The Compton Community College District shall receive apportionment for courses provided at the Compton Community Educational Center by the partner district pursuant to Section 74292, subject to the transfer of moneys described in Sections 41329.53 and 41329.55 and in accordance with the following schedule: (1) For the 2005-06 fiscal year, an amount not less than the amount that was received by the Compton Community College District for the attendance of full-time equivalent students for the 2004-05 fiscal year. (2) For the 2006-07 fiscal year, an amount not less than 90 percent of the amount that was received by the Compton Community College District for the attendance of full-time equivalent students for the 2004-05 fiscal year. (3) For the 2007-08 fiscal year, an amount not less than 80 percent of the amount that was received by the Compton Community College District for the attendance of full-time equivalent students for the 2004-05 fiscal year. (4) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, an amount not less than 70 percent of the amount that was received by the Compton Community College District for the attendance of full-time equivalent students for the 2004-05 fiscal year. (b) In allocating funds for categorical aid to the Compton Community College District, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall treat the Compton Community Educational Center as a separate college. (c) The Compton Community College District shall not be subject to Section 84362 for the 2003-04 fiscal year to the 2008-09 fiscal year, inclusive. (d) Should the loss of accreditation by the Compton Community College result in a lapse of federal financial assistance to otherwise eligible students before their eligibility is recognized through the partner district, the Compton Community College District may use a portion of the proceeds from the loan described in Section 41329.58 to provide comparable amounts of assistance to eligible students. This replacement funding shall not extend beyond the end of the term during which the lapse of federal funding occurred. (e) The provisions of subdivision (a) shall be used solely to determine the apportionment funding to be allocated to the Compton Community College District. In computing statewide entitlements to funding based upon the attendance of full-time equivalent students, neither the Compton Community College District nor its partner district shall be credited with more full-time equivalent students for the Compton Community College District than were actually enrolled in attendance. It is the intent of the Legislature that any amounts necessary to make the apportionments required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be drawn from the total statewide funding available for community college apportionments. 74296. Notwithstanding any other provision of law: (a) In any action in which a court finds that any provision of this article is unlawful, or in any action challenging the implementation of this article, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the partner district, the Compton Community College District, and their respective officers, employees, and agents, are immune from the imposition of any award of money damages, including the award of attorney's fees, except to the extent that any liability for those claims arises from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the party claiming the immunity. (b) The state shall, from funds specifically appropriated for that purpose, indemnify and defend the partner district from and against any claims, other than claims based upon gross negligence or willful misconduct, arising out of its participation in the activities specified in this article.