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AB 1871

Pupil instruction: dual enrollment: College and Career Access Pathways partnerships.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Mike Fong and 3 co-sponsors

Expands CCAP partnerships by removing principal recs and course caps, allows a single long-term application, and ties reporting to graduates with 12+ college units or credentials.

Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
#collegeandcareeraccesspathwayspartnerships #pupilinstruction #dualenrollment
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Bill Summary · AB 1871

Overview

AB 1871 (2025-2026, Fong) amends the Education Code to adjust provisions governing College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnerships, which enable dual enrollment for high school students. The bill focuses on simplifying processes, expanding access, and refining reporting related to CCAPs between community college districts and K-12 districts, county offices of education, or charter schools. Key changes remove a principal recommendation requirement, modify the special part-time student rules, relax enrollment limits for CCAP participants, and shift annual reporting metrics toward outcomes (e.g., 12+ college units completed by graduation).

Purpose and intent

  • Improve access to dual enrollment for pupils who are underrepresented in higher education or not yet college-bound.
  • Create seamless high school-to-college pathways, particularly in career technical education (CTE) and transfer preparation.
  • Align CCAP offerings with local workforce needs while preserving program integrity and accountability.

Key provisions and changes

  • CCAP partnership requirements (Section 76004):

    • Partnerships may be formed between a California community college district and a school district or county office of education to offer/expand dual enrollment.
    • “High school” definitions broaden to include alternative or developmental programs (community schools, juvenile court schools, adult education, etc.).
    • Underrepresented in higher education can include first-time college students, low-income students, foster youth, homeless students, students with disabilities, and dependents.

  • Partnership governance and approval (subdivisions (b) and (c)):

    • Each partner must determine career pathways with input from local workforce development boards; each board retains final decision-making authority.
    • Partnerships must be approved at open public meetings with opportunity for public comment.
    • CCAP agreements must outline terms, including served pupil numbers, courses, sites, and benefit criteria.
    • Protocols for information sharing and joint facilities use must be established; parental consent is required for high school pupils to enroll.

  • Administrative simplifications (subsection (c)(1)):

    • Protos must no longer require a principal recommendation for the duration of participation.
    • Protocols must authorize one application for the duration of attendance as a special part-time CCAP student.

  • Special part-time student rules (existing vs. proposed, various subsections):

    • Current law allows up to 15 units per term, with a maximum of 4 community college courses per term.
    • AB 1871 would remove the cap of 4 courses per term for CCAP participants enrolled up to 15 units per term (still within CCAP context).

  • Annual reporting and metrics (subsection (u) and related provisions):

    • Current reporting requires data on courses by site, categories, and enrollment, plus outcomes.
    • AB 1871 shifts annual reporting to count high school pupils who completed 12 or more college units by graduation, earned certificates, or completed associate degree/transfer requirements.
    • The chancellor would aggregate and report data to the Legislature, the Director of Finance, and the Superintendent, with existing obligations to report on full-time equivalent (FTE) student generation.

  • Other operational and accountability features:

    • CCAP agreements must identify a point of contact and be filed with the CCC Chancellor’s Office and relevant department.
    • Provisions address instructor qualifications, non-displacement of existing teachers, employer of record, and reporting responsibilities for federal teacher quality mandates.
    • Enrollment priority rules allow CCAP participants to receive enrollment priority for required CCAP courses, with unit completions counting toward future registration priority.
    • Fees: High school pupils in CCAP courses on high school campuses would be exempt from certain prohibited fees.
    • Financial and apportionment considerations: Districts still receive credit or reimbursement for attendance, with mechanisms to prevent double funding.

  • Exemptions and transition:

    • Provisions apply to CCAP partnerships and do not affect preexisting agreements from January 1, 2016 (with clarifications about compliance).
    • Charter schools may participate in CCAP partnerships under the same framework.

Who would be affected

  • Community college districts (participating in CCAP partnerships).
  • School districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that partner with community colleges.
  • High school students enrolled in CCAP courses for college credit, including those targeting career-technical and transfer pathways.
  • Instructors (CCAP courses) and high school teachers involved in CCAP offerings.
  • State and local education administrators responsible for CCAP oversight, reporting, and compliance.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • CCAP partnership agreements must be approved at open public meetings by the governing boards of both partners.
  • Each CCAP agreement must be filed with the CCC Chancellor’s Office and the department before start; the chancellor may void noncompliant agreements.
  • Reporting cycle: annual data collection with a May 1st aggregating deadline and a July 31st publication/communication of aggregated data to state authorities.
  • The special part-time student application process would be revised to allow one application for the duration of attendance (deadline noted as July 31, 2020, for prior revision; implementation date tied to the CCAP agreement lifecycle).

Summary

AB 1871 modernizes and expands CCAP partnerships by reducing procedural barriers (no principal recommendation requirement, single application for CCAP participants), increasing flexibility (no 4-course-per-term cap for CCAP special part-time students), and emphasizing outcomes (tracking 12+ college units earned by graduation and related credentials). It retains governance safeguards, reporting requirements, and alignment with workforce needs, while ensuring access for increasingly diverse high school students to college credit, certificates, and transfer pathways.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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