Union’s full court press succeeds

Three bills on fair accreditation signed into law

Community colleges Legislative action has demonstrated that Gov. Brown and the California Legislature believe that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges was out of line.

In a significant victory for the union, the governor signed the CFT-sponsored bill that requires the ACCJC to report to the Legislature biannually on any policy changes that affect the accreditation process or status of a community college. AB1942 (Bonta, D-Oakland) requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to direct those reports to the appropriate budget and legislative subcommittees of the Legislature. In addition, the ACCJC would have to submit a report whenever it makes a decision that affects the accreditation status of a community college.

The governor also signed CFT-supported AB2087 (Ammiano, D-San Francisco) mandating that the Board of Governors regulations under which the board may appoint a special trustee to manage a district must include specific benchmarks regarding local capacity to resume management of the district.

And earlier in the summer, the higher education budget trailer bill that will provide City College of San Francisco with much-needed stabilization funding was signed into law. SB860 will provide critical funding to City College over the next three fiscal years to rebuild student enrollment after significant declines due to the unfair sanctions imposed by the ACCJC.