Bill > AB1602

This bill enacts several changes and appropriations related to education in California, including revising the California Library Services Act to remove certain powers from the California Library Services Board and allocating $3,000,000 to the California State Library for its use. It also establishes the Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Grant Program, appropriating $7,000,000 to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for community college districts to develop associate degrees and career technical education certificates that eliminate textbook costs by using alternative instructional materials, and also appropriates $31,695,000 to backfill projected revenue shortfalls for community college districts and $20,000,000 to enhance online course development. The bill modifies the interest rate for emergency apportionments to the Compton Community College District, establishes the Student Success for Basic Skills Program with an appropriation for faculty development and grants to community college districts, and extends the Career Technical Education Pathways Program by one year. Additionally, it requires the University of California and the California State University to include specific cost-reporting methodologies in their biennial reports, reduces funding for the Middle Class Scholarship Program, and mandates the University of California to develop a plan to improve the admission, enrollment, and graduation of students from underrepresented high schools, while also establishing the California Firearm Violence Research Act to create a research center within the University of California. The bill also appropriates $4,000,000 for the A-G Success Initiative to develop online courses aligned with college admission requirements and $35,000,000 to the California State University to improve graduation and transfer rates, particularly for low-income, underrepresented minority, and first-generation students. Finally, it establishes the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine within the Governor's Office to fund demonstration projects and extends a competitive bidding exemption for contracts related to this initiative, and enacts the California Firearm Violence Research Act, contingent on the University of California's adoption of its provisions.