CCAE January 2013 Newsletter

C  A  L  I  F  O  R  N  I  A

ADULT EDUCATION

A Newsletter on Adult Education in California

January 2013

GOVERNOR’S BUDGET PROPOSES TRANSFERRING ADULT EDUCATION TO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Guaranteed to generate debate, the Governor’s Budget for 2013-14 proposes to transfer the state’s Adult Education program from K-12 districts to community colleges. This recommendation has been proposed before and rejected because K12 districts are better positioned to deliver the program for the following reasons:

• Adult Education covers instruction to the high school diploma level with dedication to basic education and English acquisition, two areas outside of community college focus.
• Adult Education offers community-based instruction with easy access for students.
• Adult Education offers immediate response to student programmatic needs.
• Adult Education is cost effective. A state dedication of $600 million serves over one million students in a given year, a critical factor with 5 million Californians lacking a high school diploma.

 The Legislative Analyst report, as noted in the following, recommends that AE remain in K-12 and that clear distinctions be instituted regarding what instruction belongs in K-12 Adult Education and the community colleges.

STATE’S LEGISLATIVE ANALYST RECOMMENDS A SEPARATE FUNDING MECHANISM FOR ADULT EDUCATION IN K-12

On December 5^th, the state’s Legislative Analyst released a comprehensive report on California’s Adult Education program. A number of substantive recommendations are put forth, including but not limited to the following:

• Focus state support on a core Adult Education mission leading to a high school diploma and short term vocational training.
• Provide a clear distinction between Adult Education and community college instruction.
• Fund Adult Education as a separate item within school district budgets.
• Promote a coordinated and delineated system between Adult Education and community colleges.

This LAO report presents a valuable tool for responding to and modifying the Governor’s recommendation to transfer the Adult Education to the community colleges.

What to Do………

Implement the LAO recommendations on Adult Education.

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CCAE - California Council on Adult Education - www.ccaestate.org