(a) In order to receive a grant, the governing board of a community college district shall demonstrate in its application for funding, consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 88805, that the community colleges that are to participate in the grant program will redesign their curriculum, career pathways, assessment and placement procedures, or any combination thereof, to implement, or significantly expand the use or application of, two or more of the following evidence-based practices and principles:

(1) Adopting placement tests or other student assessment indicators and related policies that may include multiple measures of student performance, including grades in high school courses, especially overall grade point average, results from the common assessment system, and input from counselors.

(2) Increasing the placement of students directly in gateway English and mathematics courses that are transferable to the University of California or the California State University and career pathways, with remedial instruction integrated as appropriate for underprepared students.

(3) Aligning content in remedial courses with the students’ programs of academic or vocational study to target students’ actual needs and increase relevance. This paragraph is intended to encourage the development of remedial instruction focused on a student’s identified academic need informed by the student’s intended course of study.

(4) Contextualizing remedial instruction in foundational skills for the industry cluster, pathways, or both, in which the student seeks to advance.

(5) Providing proactive student support services that are integrated with the instruction provided.

(6) Developing two- and three-course sequences, as appropriate, for completion of a college-level English or mathematics course, or both, for underprepared students, by either utilizing technology, where appropriate, to enhance the adoption of the high impact practices specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, or implementing other effective basic skills course strategies and practices not specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, subject to the college providing evidence that substantiates the practice is effective.

(b) Community colleges are encouraged to collaborate with local school districts serving kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to better articulate English and math instruction between the high schools and the community colleges.

(c) Each participating community college shall be responsible for all of the following:

(1) Developing a plan based on two or more of the evidence-based principles and practices described in subdivision (a) that demonstrates a clear strategy for ensuring that both of the following occur within a five-year period:

(A) A progressively increasing share of the students who enroll at participating community colleges within the community college district achieve the goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section 88805.

(B) A significantly greater share of entering students who are enrolled at the community college achieve the goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section 88805 within a shorter time period than before the implementation of the plan at the community college.

(2) Ensuring that the plan developed pursuant to paragraph (1) does all the following:

(A) Describes the community college’s current practices with regard to the selected high impact practices and its readiness to implement the new interventions.

(B) Articulates targets for the share of entering students projected to be served by these interventions over the three-year implementation period.

(C) Sets goals for the share of entering students who complete a college-level English or mathematics course within three semesters or less after enrollment.

(D) Identifies key strategies and implementation benchmarks for evaluating the progress of campus efforts to implement the selected interventions.

(E) Details the number of campus faculty likely to be involved in all selected high impact interventions and the plan for addressing their professional and technical assistance needs.

(3) Ensuring that its faculty participate in professional development regarding academic programs or new curriculum developed or expanded pursuant to the plan, using grant funds to support that faculty participation.

(4) Commencing in the year that a community college receives a grant and for the following three fiscal years, annually reporting to the chancellor’s office on program outcomes, disaggregated by the demographic characteristics, high school grade point average, and initial placement level of its students, for purposes of measuring progress compared to the community college’s performance before its implementation of the plan. These reports should include all of the following:

(A) The total number and percentage of entering students identified as underprepared before receipt of the grant.

(B) The number and percentage of entering students served by the grant program, disaggregated by type of practice implemented.

(C) The number and percentage of entering students achieving the goals listed in subdivision (b) of Section 88805.

(D) The number of faculty involved and faculty needs regarding the adoption and operation of courses under the plan.

(E) If applicable, a narrative describing any subsequent adjustments to the design of the college’s basic skills course practices or strategies adopted pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a).

(F) A description of any additional or expanded student supports offered.

(G) A narrative describing the community college’s efforts to collaborate with local school districts serving kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to better articulate English and math instruction between the high schools and the community colleges.

(5) These plans should be developed in consultation with campus faculty.

(d) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall be responsible for all of the following:

(1) Developing application criteria, administrative guidelines, and other requirements for purposes of administering the grant program. Applications that would do one or both of the following shall be given priority consideration within the application criteria:

(A) Scale up existing practices.

(B) Provide services to greater proportions of students.

(2) Administering the grant program and distributing and monitoring awards to recipient community college districts.

(3) Providing the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

(e) (1) The Legislative Analyst’s Office shall aggregate, analyze, and report the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) to the Legislature on the progress of the grant program in achieving its prescribed purpose. The Legislative Analyst’s Office shall issue an interim report by December 1, 2019, and a final report by December 1, 2021.

(2) (A) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this subdivision is inoperative on July 1, 2026, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 22, Sec. 20. (SB 81) Effective June 24, 2015.)