Sunday, April 17, 2016

AB1846 to Assembly Education Committee Wed, April 20, 2016

AB1846, the bill that would increase funding for Adult Education by 250 million, will go to the Assembly Education Committee this Wednesday, April 20 at 1:30 in room 5160.   If the bill becomes law, funding for Adult Education would increase to 750 million, which is more or less what it was prior to all the cuts.



Attending the meeting and speaking in the public comment section at the end has an impact.  Particularly important are student voices.  Their experience and perspective matters very much.


If you make the trip to Sacramento, make a day of it and visit other legislators while you are there.  You do not need to make an appointment - although making an appointment has merit.  Drop by the office of the legislators who represent you.  Speak to an aide if the Legislator is not there.  Express your support of AB1846 and explain why it's needed.

If you can't make the trip to Sac, you can still make your voice heard by
by contacting the Assembly's Education Committee before they meet to vote on it:


The email contact links for Assembly Members won't work if you live outside the district they represent.  You can use the following format to contact a legislator outside your district: firstname.lastname@asm.ca.gov

Email sent that way will not necessarily be read quickly. 
Calling is better if you are not in their district.


Here is the contact information for the Education Committee:

Patrick O'Donnell (Chair)Dem - 70 Contact Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4166, Sacramento, CA 94249-0070; (916) 319-2070
Kristin Olsen (Vice Chair)Rep - 12

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4144, Sacramento, CA 94249-0012; (916) 319-2012
Young O. KimRep - 65 Contact Assembly Member Young O. Kim

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4177, Sacramento, CA 94249-0065; (916) 319-2065
Kevin McCartyDem - 7 Contact Assembly Member Kevin McCarty

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 2160, Sacramento, CA 94249-0007; (916) 319-2007
Miguel SantiagoDem - 53 Contact Assembly Member Miguel Santiago

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 5119, Sacramento, CA 94249-0053; (916) 319-2053
Tony ThurmondDem - 15 Contact Assembly Member Tony Thurmond

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 5150, Sacramento, CA 94249-0015; (916) 319-2015
Shirley N. WeberDem - 79 Contact Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 3123, Sacramento, CA 94249-0079; (916) 319-2079

Read the bill here:

Thursday, April 14, 2016

A4CAS Update on AB1846

An update from A4CAS (Alliance for California Adult Schools) on AB1846, the Patty Lopez bill that would increase funding from 500 million to 750 million:

Great news! Assembly Bill 1846 (Lopez) passed through the Assembly's Higher Ed Committee yesterday with a unanimous YES vote (12-0). It will move to the Assembly's Education Committee next week, followed by the Appropriations Committee. After 1846 is passed by the Assembly, it moves to the Senate for passage, then back to the Assembly before landing on Governor Brown's desk.

Voice your support for AB 1846 by contacting the Assembly's Education Committee before they meet to vote on it: http://a4cas.blogspot.com/…/state-assembly-education-commit…
Read the bill here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml…
‪#‎AllianceforCaliforniaAdultSchools

The email contact links for Assembly Members won't work if you live outside the district they represent.  You can use the following format to contact a legislator outside your district: firstname.lastname@asm.ca.gov

Here is the contact information for the Education Committee:

Patrick O'Donnell (Chair)Dem - 70 Contact Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4166, Sacramento, CA 94249-0070; (916) 319-2070
Kristin Olsen (Vice Chair)Rep - 12

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4144, Sacramento, CA 94249-0012; (916) 319-2012
Young O. KimRep - 65 Contact Assembly Member Young O. Kim

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 4177, Sacramento, CA 94249-0065; (916) 319-2065
Kevin McCartyDem - 7 Contact Assembly Member Kevin McCarty

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 2160, Sacramento, CA 94249-0007; (916) 319-2007
Miguel SantiagoDem - 53 Contact Assembly Member Miguel Santiago

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 5119, Sacramento, CA 94249-0053; (916) 319-2053
Tony ThurmondDem - 15 Contact Assembly Member Tony Thurmond

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 5150, Sacramento, CA 94249-0015; (916) 319-2015
Shirley N. WeberDem - 79 Contact Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber

Capitol Office

P.O. Box 942849, Room 3123, Sacramento, CA 94249-0079; (916) 319-2079


Monday, April 11, 2016

Perspective: "Anyone Can Teach Adult School? The Fate of Credential Requirements for Adult School Teachers" by Kristen Pursley

Kristen Pursely raises important and urgent questions about the future of credentialing for Adult Education in the following blog post, shared with permission below.

Anyone Can Teach Adult School? The Fate of Credential Requirements for Adult School Teachers

In 2012, in a report entitled “Restructuring California’s Adult Education System”, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recommended that the State of California no longer require adult school teachers to hold a credential. While it is strange to see a recommendation to actually relax standards in a document devoted to suggesting ways to improve adult education in California, it’s right there on page 21 of the report. The reason given is that teachers could move more easily between adult school and community college jobs without the adult school credential requirement.
AB 104, the law that creates the Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) provides, in section 84906, that in order to receive AEBG funding,  the  regional consortia between community colleges and adult schools must approve a plan that addresses, among other things,  “Qualifications of instructors, including common standards across entities that provide education and workforce services to adults.”  However, certain instructor qualifications are set by law, and cannot be changed unless the laws are changed.

Hit the link to read more.