Postsecondary education trailer bill.
(13) The Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Grant Program requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to distribute grants to community college districts that meet specified criteria for developing and implementing associate degrees and career technical education certificate programs earned entirely by completing courses that eliminate conventional textbook costs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies.
Existing law requires a community college district, as a condition of receiving funding appropriated in the annual Budget Act, to develop and implement zero-textbook-cost degrees, among other things, to strive to implement zero-textbook-cost degrees by the first term of the 2018–19 academic year, or sooner, as determined by the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the chancellor to report, by June 30, 2019, to the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and the Department of Finance specified information on the development and implementation of zero-textbook-cost degrees pursuant to the program, including the estimated annual savings to students. Existing law authorizes funds not awarded in the 2016–17 fiscal year in the annual Budget Act for the program to be awarded in the 2017–18 fiscal year. Existing law requires the chancellor’s office to award an initial round of grants no later than January 1, 2017.
This bill, among other things, would require a community college district, as a condition of receiving funding, to strive to implement zero-textbook-cost degrees within 3 academic years of receiving funding. Of the funding appropriated in the annual Budget Act, the bill would authorize the chancellor to distribute grants to a community college district for the development and curation of open educational resources for coursework. As a condition of receiving funding for the development and curation of open educational resources for coursework, the bill would require a community college district to comply with certain requirements, including to strive to complete development and curation of open educational resources within 2 academic years of receiving funding. The bill would require the chancellor to report, by June 30, 2027, to the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and the Department of Finance specified information on the development and implementation of zero-textbook-cost degrees and the development and curation of open educational resources pursuant to the program, including the estimated annual savings to colleges. The bill would authorize funds not awarded in a fiscal year for which funds are appropriated to be awarded in the following fiscal year, and would require the chancellor to award an initial round of grants no later than January 1 of a fiscal year for which funds are appropriated.
This bill would appropriate $115,000,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to provide grants to community college districts to develop zero-textbook-cost degrees using open educational resources pursuant to the Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Grant Program.