ACCCA Conference 2020
Chancellor Houston, currently serving as the ACCCA Board President, attended the 45th ACCCA Conference in Riverside February 26 – 28, 2020. Chancellor Houston opened the conference with a welcome address to ACCCA members and introduced the keynote speaker Dr. Cesar A. Cruz.
Yuba College’s Dr. Carla Tweed and Dean Jeremy Brown presented “Sometimes, You Have to Sweat the Small Stuff!” on day one of the conference. The presentation focused on the effects of time of turbulent change and administrative turnover on college climate and employee morale. The presentation focused on how to be intentional in building relationships and trust among campus and community stakeholders by focusing on the small things.
Each year at the Annual Association Business Meeting of ACCCA, the ACCCA Board recognizes colleagues who have gone above and beyond for their institutions, their colleagues and students. The 2020 Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to Woodland Community College, Lake County Campus’s Executive Dean Steve Wylie. Congratulations Steve!
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Chancellor Houston provided a communication to YCCD students, faculty and staff on February 27, 2020, regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak currently being closely monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The communication is included below.
YCCD continues to monitor the situation through contact with local county health departments as well as the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) website. YCCD and College Leaderships are proactively developing communication plans to help inform students, faculty, and staff to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as COVID-19. These plans include:
- Increasing the supply of hand sanitizer in common areas of the Colleges, Centers and District Services;
- Supplying tissues to Colleges, Centers and District Services;
- Increasing the schedule of cleaning and sanitizing areas where students, faculty and staff congregate;
- Temporarily increasing custodial staff through the duration of the concerns around COVID-19;
- Developing a website to provide continuous updates and Frequently Asked Questions for staff, faculty and students. The website can be found here: YCCD Update on COVID-19; and
- Developing and distributing informational fliers focusing on healthy habits and links to additional resources.
Under the leadership of Vice Chancellor, Dr. Sonja Lolland, the District and College Safety Committees will work to establish protocols for issues such as cancellation of events such as athletic competitions or performing arts performances, travel restrictions, and the protocol response should a student, faculty or staff member be diagnosed with COVID-19.
As a reminder, as with any virus, especially during flu season, the Health Department reminds you there are a number of steps you can take to protect your health and those around you:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough with your arm.
Students, faculty and staff experiencing worsening flu-like symptoms should seek medical attention. Please call the Yuba College Student Health Clinic and Student Wellness Center at 530-740-1749; the Woodland Community College Student Health Services at 530-661-7758; or visit your local health care facility, immediately. Call ahead if you have recently traveled to China or have had contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 while they were ill.
Look for additional information to be forthcoming through other means of communication such as the District Newsletter and District and college websites.
Additional Information about Coronavirus (COVID-19)
World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html
California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
California Community Colleges: https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Chancellors-Office/Divisions/Communications-and-Marketing/Novel-Coronavirus
Colusa County: https://www.countyofcolusa.org/99/Public-Health
Lake County: http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Coronavirus.htm
Sutter County: https://www.suttercounty.org/or https://www.suttercounty.org/newscenter/item/1219
Yolo County: https://www.yolocounty.org/health-human-services/adults/communicable-disease-investigation-and-control/coronavirus
Yuba County: https://www.yubaA.org/departments/emergency_services/coronavirus.php
Coronavirus Communication February 2020
Legislative Update
Bills of Interest
AB 1862 (Santiago) – This bill would prohibit the charging of tuition or mandatory systemwide fees for enrollment at a campus of the California State University for any academic year, up to 2 academic years, to a California Community College resident transfer student who has completed an associate degree for transfer or has received a fee waiver pursuant to the California College Promise.
AB 1970 (Jones-Sawyer) – This bill would establish a working group consisting of representatives from the State Department of Education, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Regents of the University of California to consider the creation of a pilot program, as specified, that would provide free postsecondary education in the state by replacing the system of charging students tuition and fees for enrollment at a public postsecondary institution.
AB 2003 (Garcia) – This bill would require a community college to stock 50% of the school’s restrooms with feminine hygiene products. The bill would prohibit a community college from charging for any menstrual products, including feminine hygiene products, provided to students.
AB 2009 (Cunningham) – This bill would require, no later than July 1, 2021, the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges to enter into an agreement with an experienced provider of training for persons preparing for license and employment as professional commercial truck drivers for the development and provision of instructional material necessary to add human trafficking awareness training to the curriculum of students pursuing this course of study and to disseminate information about how to obtain and use this instructional material to community colleges and private postsecondary educational institutions offering these programs. The bill would also require the human trafficking awareness training developed under the bill be incorporated into the curriculum of all community college programs that offer training for persons preparing for licensing and employment as commercial truck drivers as a required part of the training for all community college students commencing participation in these programs on or after January 1, 2022, and would require the chancellor’s office to biennially review and update this training.
AB 2016 (Calderon) – This bill would require, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, the Franchise Tax Board to revise the returns required to be filed pursuant to the Personal Income Tax law to allow a taxpayer to authorize the Franchise Tax Board to share the information contained in the returns with the Student Aid Commission for purposes of providing the taxpayer with Cal Grant financial aid estimates for the financing of postsecondary education.
AB 2019 (Holden) – This bill would also authorize county offices of education to enter into CCAP partnerships with the governing boards of community college districts in accordance with these provisions.
AB 2023 (Chiu)– This bill would require a campus of the University of California, California State University, or California Community Colleges to update a former student’s records to include the student’s updated legal name or gender if the institution receives government-issued documentation from the student demonstrating that the former student’s legal name or gender has been changed.
AB 2030 (Rubio) – This is a spot bill that would make nonsubstantive changes in the provisions that set forth the long-term policy of the Cal Grant Program.
AB 2125 (Rivas) – This bill would make a person committed to or detained in a juvenile facility eligible to receive a Cal Grant award.
AB 2156 (Garcia) – This bill would provide that a community college district may establish and offer to students a course of study lading to the concurrent award of an associate degree and a high school diploma.
AB 2176 (Holden) – This bill would require transit agencies to offer free student transit passes to persons attending the California Community Colleges, the California State University, or the University of California in order to be eligible for state funding under the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act, the State Transit Assistance Program, or the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. The bill would also require a free student transit pass to count as a full price fare for purposes of calculating the ration of fare revenues to operating costs.
AB 2186 (Grayson) – This bill would prohibit a local agency from withholding more than 5% of the contract price for contracts for the creation, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of any public structure, building, road, or other improvement of any kind that will exceed $5,000 in total costs.
AB 2190 (Medina) – This bill would eliminate the prohibition against a student member of the Board of Governors voting during the student member’s first year on the board.
AB 2219 (O’Donnell) – This bill would authorize the State Teachers’ Retirement System to administer an individual retirement plan as described in Section 408 of Title 26 of the United States Code. The bill would eliminate the requirement that the administration of these plans be for the purpose of accepting a rollover from an annuity contract or custodial account offered by the system. The bill would instead specify categories of people for whom the system could provide this service, including certain former eligible employees and their spouses.
AB 2231 (Kalra) – This bill would eliminate the distinction in prevailing wage the definition of “locality in which public work is performed” and instead define the term in all cases as meaning the county in which the public work is done.
AB 2510 (Cooley) – This bill would authorize the Teachers’ Retirement Board to contract with investment advisers upon the same finding by the board and approval by the State Personnel Board. The bill would, pursuant to a policy adopted by the board, authorize the board to establish a competitive bidding process and to specify the contract terms and conditions the board solely deems necessary and prudent to contract with qualified investment managers and investment advisers.
AB 2516 (Reyes) – This bill would establish the Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program, administered by the State Department of Education, for child development permit holders to acquire and improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities to support dual language learners enrolled in child development programs. The bill would require the department to allocate grant funding to eligible child development providers that operate a child development program for purposes of providing professional development services to administrators, teachers, and staff who possess a child development permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The bill would specify eligibility criteria and would require the department to ensure that grant recipients, to the maximum extent possible, are balanced with regard to geographic regions and urban rural settings.
AB 2609 (Medina) – This bill would shorten the maximum length of a prescribed period of probation for classified employees from one year to 6 months or 130 days of paid service, whichever is longer.
AB 2710 (Kalra) – This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the State Department of Education implement pathways for credentialed general education teachers to obtain an authorization to teach special education pupils with mild or moderate disabilities.
AB 2764 (Gloria) – This bill would waive open course provisions in statute or regulations of the board of governors for any governing board of a community college district for classes the district provides to military personnel on a military base, and would authorize the board of governors to include the units of full-time equivalent students generated in those classes for purposes of state apportionment.
AB 2776 (Lackey) – This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation pertaining to the statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program.
AB 2852 (Mullin) – This bill among other provisions would authorize a city, county, or city and county that offers affordable rental housing for its employees that is financed by federal or state funds or tax credits to restrict occupancy in that affordable rental housing to its own employees, but would authorize the city, county, or city and county to allow employees of another city, county, or city and county, special district, school district, or community college district to also occupy that housing.
AB 2910 (Weber) – This bill would give each student member of the governing board of a community college district an advisory vote, as specified, or, if authorized by the governing board at its discretion, a full vote. This bill would also entitle each student member of the governing board to make and second motions and to receive the same compensation as a regular board member without further authorization of the governing board. The Community College League of California said they plan to take a position of “support, if amended” to remove the provisions allowing a board to give a student a full vote and instead focus on the stipends for the students.
AB 2921 (Stone) – This bill would require the Department of Business Oversight to submit a report to the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions and the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance by January 1, 2020, and every 3 years thereafter, that details the general health of the Student Loan Servicing Act, the total number of violations of the act, and the total number of licensees.
AB 2931 (Santiago) – This bill would specify that the 90-day period for the employer to complete its investigation of the accused misconduct and initiate disciplinary proceedings against, or reinstate, the academic employee is a 90-working-day period, would exclude from the calculation of that period any vacation days of the employee that were authorized by the employer before placing an employee on involuntary paid administrative leave, and would provide that the period of paid administrative leave may be extended by agreement of the parties.
AB 2972 (Limon) – This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and encourage the University of California, to create a systemwide training program, for the administrators of those respective segments to complete annually, relating to undocumented students, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), federal and state laws related to immigration generally, and state law relating to exemption from nonresident tuition.
AB 2982 (Salas) – This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation pertaining to the affordability of textbooks and other instructional materials at the California Community Colleges.
AB 2997 (Gray) – This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to ensure that eligible career technical educational programs qualify for available state funding, as specified.
AB 2998 (Kiley) – This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this bill to include provisions that would authorize a school district to offer an optional contract to its employees that has a defined contribution plan in lieu of a defined benefit plan provided that the decision to select that contract is made by the employee.
AB 3000 (Frazier) – This bill would change the statutory deadline for the chancellor to submit the report on expanding the use of course credit at the California Community Colleges for students with prior learning on the initiative to January 1, 2022.
AB 3017 (Brough) – This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to provisions related to the GI Bill.
AB 3057 (Rodriquez) – This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the Every Kid Counts Act.
AB 3084 (Cervantes) – This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact a later legislation that would prohibit the Student Aid Commission or an institution of higher education from performing a verification to establish eligibility for state financial aid on a student more than once.
AB 3086 (Bonta) – This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact later legislation that would create an equity-focused college affordability equation by revising the calculation of the real cost of college attendance to raise the ceiling on that amount and by restricting the practice of scholarship displacement, as defined, by public postsecondary educational institutions.
AB 3137 (Voepel) – This bill would require that a student who is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined, and is called to active duty as specified, may withdraw from participation in the California College Promise and resume participation in the program upon the student’s return from active duty without losing eligibility for the fee waiver or any other benefit of the program. The bill would also provide that the time during which the student was obliged to withdraw because of active duty shall not count toward the limit of the period of that student’s eligibility for participation in the California College Promise.
AB 3157 (Berman) – This bill would require that the Department of Housing and Community Development recommendations for an improved regional housing nee allocation process and methodology additionally promote and streamline the developing of housing for low-income community college students.
AB 3183 (Irwin) – This bill would limit the Department of Veteran’s Affair’s ability to provide for a veteran’s education to educational institutions in California.
AB 3189 (Medina) – This bill would add to the Donahoe Higher Education Act a provision declaring a finding of the Legislature that there is a need for more housing to be provided for students at the campuses of the postsecondary educational institutions of this state.
AB 3207 (Gipson) – This bill would provide that the governing board of a community college district is authorized to construct and maintain, instead of dormitories, student housing in connection with any community college campus within the district. This bill would further provide that, notwithstanding any other law, a community college district is authorized to expend, for the construction and maintenance of student housing, funds allocated pursuant to the Community College Facility Deferred Maintenance and Special Repair Program.
AB 3298 (Gipson) – This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to provisions on pertaining to the appointment, compensation, duties, and responsibilities of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
AB 3310 (Muratsuchi) – This bill would, commencing with the 2021-22 academic year, require each community college district to offer courses in ethnic studies at each of its campuses. The bill would require that the units earned by students for successful completion of these courses would be eligible for transfer and, if applicable, would meet ethnic studies graduation requirements at the California State University. The bill would also, commencing with the 2023-24 academic year, require each community college district to require the completion of at least one course in ethnic studies of at least 3 units as a requirement for a student to obtain an associate’s degree.
AB 3326 (Smith) – This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to provisions of law that limit the number of pupils a principal is authorized to recommend for community college summer session pursuant to those provisions to 5% of the total number of pupils in any grade level.
AB 3333 (O’Donnell) – This bill currently contains legislative intent to enact legislation to establish a transparent and coordinated process for the allocation of state general obligation bonds for the construction and rehabilitation of facilities of campuses of the California Community Colleges. However, we have been involved in multiple stakeholder meetings to determine what the substantive amendments to the bill will be. We are working through amendments that will provide guidance to the State Chancellor’s Office and the Department of Finance in the development of their policies for the approval of facilities. This will enable local district to know what the “rules of the game” are when submitting proposals for the Board of Governors’ spending plan.
AB 3324 (O’Donnell) – This bill would exempt faculty and staff housing from the Field Act. We have been in meetings and are examining the possibility of exempting community college student housing from the Field Act.
AB 3333 (O’Donnell) – This is currently a spot bill. The plan is to amend this measure so that it would require the State Chancellor’s Office to undertake regulations to create the scoring and application process for applying for stateside capital funding.
SB 874 (Hill) – This bill was amended to include substantive language as relates to the community college baccalaureate degree program. The bill was previously a spot bill, but it would now lift the cap on the number of baccalaureate degrees a community college districts and community college could offer. The bill would maintain the nonduplication language and continue to require the State Chancellor’s Office to oversee and select the programs that could move forward.
SB 912 (Beall) – This is a spot bill that states the intent of the Legislature to extend certain foster care benefits to foster youths through 25 years of age.
SB 956 (Jackson) – This bill would request the University of California, through a new or existing research center, to perform a comprehensive assessment of the major tax expenditures and to present a comprehensive, peer-reviewed assessment to the board by July 1, 2022, at a public hearing of the board. The bill, to the extent that the University of California needs access to taxpayer data and information, would require the Franchise Tax Board or the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to ensure relevant taxpayer data is made available and ensure appropriate levels of data security and protections are in place for transferred and sensitive data.
SB 958 (Leyva) – This bill would authorize the Foster Youth Educational Support Program to provide all of these services, as well as direct financial support, to enrolled students who meet all eligibility requirements but whose courses have not yet commenced, and who have completed required matriculation activities as described, if those services are deemed necessary to enable the student to be successful upon the commencement of the academic term. This bill would also require a student participant in the program to be a current or former foster youth in California whose dependency was established or continued by the court on or after the youth’s 13th birthday rather than their 16th.
SB 987 (Hurtado) – This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would establish a pilot program for purposes of facilitating premedical pathways to medical school for students attending community colleges.
SB 993 (Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement) – This is the CalSTRS annual cleanup bill.
SB 1083 (Pan) – This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact later legislation that would require the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of each community college district to have one full-time equivalent mental health counselor with an applicable California license per 1,500 students enrolled at each of their respective campuses to the extent consistent with state and federal law.
SB 1104 (Hill) – This bill would make a nonsubstantive change in a provision related to the statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program.
SB 1155 (Hertzberg) – This bill would establish the Los Angeles County Community Colleges Common Course Numbering Pilot Project, and would require the chancellor to convene a pilot project task force. The bill would require the task force to develop a common course numbering system in the subjects of mathematics and language arts. The bill would require the chancellor to invite designated community college districts, all of which are located in Los Angeles County, to participate in the task force. The bill would require the task force to complete its work no later than December 31, 2021, and would require the chancellor to submit a report on that work to the Legislature no later than March 31, 2022.
SB 1211 (Glazer) – This bill would require, commencing with the 2021-22 academic year, that at least 5% of each incoming class at each participating campus of the California State University be a participant in the California Promise program, and that at least 70% of those participating students be either low-income students, first-generation students, or students from communities that are underrepresented in postsecondary education.
SB 1232 (Glazer) – This bill would require that specified Cal WORKs eligible individuals participating in a full time or part time educational activity at a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress receive a standard allowance of $250 to $500 per semester or quarter, which may be provided, in whole or in part, in the form of a book voucher, or reimbursement for verified actual expenses for ancillary services. The bill would exempt an application or recipient who is enrolled in a specified educational plan or program and making satisfactory progress from participating in work activities and would entitle an applicant to the allowance or reimbursement and other necessary supportive services. The bill would provide that a recipient who is enrolled in a publicly funded postsecondary educational institution and making satisfactory progress that would meaningfully increase the likelihood of their employment is entitled to an extension of the 24-month cumulative participation period.
SB 1267 (Hertzberg) – This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the provisions relating to student loan assistance from sources other than the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program.
SB 1355 (Durazo) – This bill would authorize the community college district to agree to a rental fee or other charge for that use if the constructed building or buildings are developed and operated as affordable housing for students or employees of the community college district, or fort both those students and employees. This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district to additionally lease real property for less than fair rental value to an entity if that entity intends to enter into a lease or agreement with the community college district for joint occupancy of the real property and buildings of the community college district to develop and operate affordable housing for students or employees of the community college district, or for both those students and employees.
Chancellor’s Calendar
March 2020
3 – Chancellor’s Cabinet
3 – Special Meeting of Foundation Board
3 – Meeting with Trustee Valdovinos
3 – Meeting of the WCC Facility Ad Hoc Committee
3 – District Consultation Council (DC3)
4 – Meetings of the Facilities/Audit and Finance Committees
5 – Speak at Chief Information Systems Officer Association (CISOA) Conference
5 – Meeting at Institute for the Future
6 – Meeting with ACCCA Executive Committee
10 – Chancellor’s Cabinet
10 – Meeting with WCC President
10 – Meeting with FAYCCD Leadership
11 – District Management Council (DMC)
11 – Meeting with WCC President (Mid-Year Evaluation)
11 – Meeting with Trustee Yanez
12 – Attend Woodland Women’s History Month Luncheon
12 – Meeting with Trustee Alves (at LCC)
12 – Policy/Student Success Committee Meeting (at LCC)
12 – Special Board Meeting (Closed Session) (at LCC)
12 – Meeting of the Governing Board (at LCC)
13 – ACCCA Board Meeting
17 – Meeting with Trustee Hastey
18 – Meeting with Trustee Teagarden
19 – District, Colleges, Academic Leadership (DCAS) Meeting
19 – Meeting with Trustee Wheeler
23 – M&O Tour of Lake County Campus
23 – Lunch/Coffee with the Chancellor at Lake County Campus
24 – Chancellor’s Cabinet
24 – District Services Executive Team Meeting
24 – Meeting with Academic Senates Leaders
25 – Lunch Meeting with ACCCA Director
26 – Meeting with Trustee Pasquale
30 thru April 3 – Spring Break
31 – Caesar Chavez Day (District Offices closed)
