The bill, AB 955, is similar to a controversial plan attempted by Santa Monica College last summer to offer core education classes such as English, math and history at a cost of about $180 per unit, alongside state-funded courses set by the Legislature at $46 per unit. The school argued that extension courses would give students who couldn’t get into regular classes another option to complete their education. The plan was derided by opponents as a pathway to a two-tier education system favoring those who can pay. The Santa Monica campus retreated after the community colleges’ chancellor’s office said the plan violated education codes that prohibit differential fees and after some protesters tried to force entry into a board of trustees meeting and were pepper-sprayed. The current bill’s author, Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), said he revived the idea because colleges are still suffering from severe state funding cuts that have prevented the schools from increasing course offerings and led many of them to drop summer and winter sessions.

Read full article [here].
by Carla Rivera, The Los Angeles Times.

Posted: April 20th, 2013, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.