The governor has decreed that some community colleges will be allowed to boost their fees dramatically for popular classes that invariably get overbooked.
From Kathryn Baron at EdSource: "Assembly Bill 955, by Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), creates a pilot program at up to six community college campuses allowing them to offer over-enrolled classes during summer or winter at much higher fees. Instead of the $46 per class unit that most California residents pay, students would pay anywhere from $140 to $404 a unit – the rates charged to students who aren’t California residents; the out-of-state fees vary by campus. Most classes are three units."
"Williams said the bill is all about access to courses, which was cut severely during the recession when community college had to eliminate classes to balance their budgets. About 600,000 students were turned away from community colleges between 2008-09 and 2011-12 because of lack of access to courses, according to a report by the Public Policy Institute of California."
"They were basically told, “You’re in, but sorry, you can’t get any of the courses you need to transfer or get a degree,” Williams said Thursday."
Speaking of education, the governor rejected legislation aimed at changing the process by which public school teachers are fired.
From the AP's Don Thompson: "Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday vetoed what he termed an "imperfect" union-backed bill intended to streamline the dismissal of teachers accused of misconduct, calling on lawmakers to try again next year."
"The bill, AB375 by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, was approved by lawmakers a year after a more stringent measure died in the state Assembly after opposition by the state's main teachers union."
"Both measures responded to last year's arrest of a Los Angeles elementary school teacher who was charged with nearly two-dozen counts of engaging in lewd conduct with students, including allegations that he blindfolded his students and fed them his semen in what he described as a tasting game."
Asking job government job seekers on their early paperwork whether they have a criminal past is now barred, under a new law.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "People who seek jobs with state or local government agencies in California will not be asked on their initial applications whether they have been convicted of a crime, under legislation that was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown."
"AB218 by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, effective in July, will prohibit most government employers from requiring disclosure of past convictions on initial applications, information that often ends any realistic job prospects. Supporters promoted the bill as offering a second chance to ex-offenders."
"Employers will be allowed to ask about criminal records, or run a background check, after determining that an applicant meets the minimum job qualifications. The restrictions will not apply to police, schoolteachers or other government jobs working with children, the elderly or the disabled, in which applicants can be asked about criminal convictions."
BART is on track -- for now -- but yet another deadline looms, this time at Sunday night.
From the Mercury-News' Mike Rosenberg: "Union leaders told their members to report to work Friday but warned that a new deadline to avert a strike loomed for Sunday night. They provided a formal 72-hour notice of a strike for Monday morning if a deal is not reached before then."
"The 60-day cooling-off period ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown expired at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday and the unions had refused to say whether they would go on strike Friday morning without a deal. Just 15 minutes before that deadline, however, the unions emerged from the negotiating table and read a statement announcing they would stay on the job for a few more days."
"The unions said they were encouraged that elected legislative leaders and BART directors were getting involved in the talks and that General Manager Grace Crunican was set to arrive at the bargaining table on Friday morning after she previously delegated negotiating duties to others."
The feds say they'll keep the national parks open if the states pick up the cost of workers who have been furloughed because of the federal shutdown. California, at least, has no intention of doing so.
From the Bee's Matt Weiser: "Citing California's own precarious financial position, officials said Thursday that the state would not spend its own money to reopen national parks closed by the federal government shutdown."
"Earlier Thursday, the Department of Interiorsaid states were welcome to pay federal salaries to reopen national parks, such as Yosemite, that have been closed by the federal budget stalemate. But H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the California Department of Finance, said the state is in no position to do that."
"The state's budget already has been affected by the federal shutdown, which has cut off numerous revenue sources for government operations and undermined local taxes generated by tourists drawn to the national parks."
