(a) A community college district or community college shall not use any assessment instrument for the purposes of this article without the authorization of the board of governors. The board of governors may adopt a list of authorized assessment instruments.

(b) The board of governors shall review all assessment instruments and shall consider for approval those that meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Assessment instruments shall meet established standards of validity and reliability.

(2) Assessment instruments shall be sensitive to cultural and language differences between students, and shall be adapted as necessary to accommodate students with disabilities.

(3) Assessment instruments shall be used solely as an advisory tool to assist students in the selection of appropriate courses.

(4) Assessment instruments shall not be used to exclude students from admission to community colleges.

(c) (1) A community college district or community college shall maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe of their initial attempt in the discipline. For a student with a declared academic goal, the transfer-level coursework shall satisfy the English and mathematics course requirements of the intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within the intended major, within a one-year timeframe of their initial attempt in the discipline.

(2) Community colleges shall use, in the placement and enrollment of students into English and mathematics courses in order to achieve this goal, one or more of the following measures:

(A) High school coursework.

(B) High school grades.

(C) High school grade point average.

(3) When using multiple measures, colleges shall apply multiple measures in the placement and enrollment of all students in such a manner that all of the following occur:

(A) Low performance on one measure shall be offset by a higher performance on another measure.

(B) Multiple measures shall be used to increase a student’s placement recommendation and shall not be used to lower it.

(C) Any one measure may demonstrate a student’s preparedness for transfer-level coursework.

(D) The multiple measures placement shall not require students to repeat coursework that they successfully completed in high school or college or for which they demonstrated competency through other methods of credit for prior learning.

(E) The multiple measures placement gives students access to a transfer-level course that will satisfy a requirement for the intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within the intended major.

(4) For the purposes of this subdivision, using high school grade point average as a composite of student performance over multiple years of high school coursework is a sufficient use of multiple evidence-based measures.

(5) Community colleges shall use multiple evidence-based measures for placing students into English-as-a-second-language (ESL) coursework. For those students placed into credit ESL coursework, their placement should maximize the probability that they will complete degree and transfer requirements in English within three years.

(6) High school transcript data shall be used as the primary means for determining placement in English and mathematics courses. When high school transcript data is difficult to obtain, logistically problematic to use, or not available, a community college district or community college shall use self-reported high school information.

(7) (A) For students who have not graduated from high school, or for high school graduates unable to provide self-reported high school information, community colleges may use guided placement or self-placement.

(B) The placement and enrollment resulting from the guided or self-placement method shall maximize the probability that students enter and complete transfer-level mathematics and English coursework that satisfies a requirement of the intended certificate or associate degree or a requirement for transfer within the intended major, within a one-year timeframe of their initial attempt in the discipline.

(C) A community college may use guided placement or self-placement to direct English language learners who are not United States high school graduates into credit ESL programs and shall maximize the probability that students in credit ESL programs enter and complete transfer-level English within a timeframe of three years.

(D) District placement methods based upon guided placement, including self-placement, shall not do either of the following:

(i) Incorporate sample problems, assignments, assessment instruments, or tests, including those designed for skill assessment.

(ii) Request students to solve problems, answer curricular questions, present demonstrations and examples of coursework designed to show knowledge or mastery of prerequisite skills, or demonstrate skills through tests or surveys.

(8) The board of governors shall establish regulations governing the use of these and other measures, instruments, and placement models to ensure that the measures, instruments, and placement models selected by a community college demonstrate that they guide English and mathematics placements and enrollment to achieve the goal of maximizing the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics that satisfies a requirement of the intended certificate or associate degree or a requirement for transfer within the intended major within a one-year timeframe and credit ESL students will complete transfer-level coursework in English within a timeframe of three years.

(9) A community college district or community college shall maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete college-level coursework in English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe that for students who seek a goal other than transfer, and who are in certificate or degree programs with specific mathematics and English requirements, as determined by the program’s advisory board or accrediting body, that cannot be met with transfer-level coursework.

(10) Programs without mathematics or English requirements are exempt from this subdivision.

(d) A community college district or community college shall not recommend or require students to enroll in pretransfer-level English or mathematics coursework unless both of the following are true:

(1) The student is highly unlikely to succeed in a transfer-level English or mathematics course based on their high school grade point average and coursework.

(2) The enrollment in pretransfer-level coursework will improve the student’s probability of completing transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe or, for credit ESL students, completing transfer-level coursework in English within a three-year timeframe.

(e) (1) By July 1, 2023, if a community college places and enrolls students into transfer-level mathematics or English coursework that does not satisfy a requirement for the student’s intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within the intended major, the community college shall show both of the following to verify the benefit of the coursework to students:

(A) The student is highly unlikely to succeed in a transfer-level English or mathematics course that satisfies a requirement for the intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within the intended major.

(B) The enrollment will improve the student’s probability of completing transfer-level mathematics or English coursework that satisfies a requirement for the intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within the intended major, within a one-year timeframe.

(2) If the benefit of the coursework, as described in paragraph (1), is not verified, the college shall not recommend or require students to enroll in that course after July 1, 2024, and shall notify students who continue to enroll in the course that it is optional and does not improve their chances of completing subsequent coursework that satisfies a requirement for their intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within their intended major.

(f) (1) By July 1, 2024, for calculus-based associate degrees or transfer majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), community colleges shall examine the impact of placing and enrolling students into transfer-level course sequences, composed of no more than two transfer-level courses, that prepare students for the first STEM calculus course, in order to verify the benefit of the coursework to students by showing all of the following:

(A) The student is highly unlikely to succeed in the first STEM calculus course without the additional transfer-level preparation.

(B) The enrollment will improve the student’s probability of completing the first STEM calculus course.

(C) The enrollment will improve the student’s persistence to and completion of the second calculus course in the STEM program, if a second calculus course is required.

(2) If the benefit of the coursework, as described in paragraph (1), is not verified, the college shall not recommend or require students to enroll in that course after July 1, 2025, and shall notify students who continue to enroll in the course that it is optional and does not improve their chances of completing calculus for their STEM program.

(g) Community colleges are encouraged to explore the impact of concurrent support for the first STEM calculus course as an alternative to transfer-level preparatory courses that are not part of the STEM degree or transfer coursework for the STEM major.

(h) By July 1, 2023, a community college district or community college, when considering the placement and enrollment of a student into transfer-level English and mathematics, shall not rely upon any of the following as a justification for placing and enrolling a student into pretransfer-level mathematics or English coursework or into transfer-level mathematics or English coursework that does not satisfy a requirement for the student’s intended certificate or associate degree, or a requirement for transfer within the intended major:

(1) The length of time between a student’s enrollment date at the community college and the student’s high school graduation date.

(2) Whether the student belongs to a special population, including, but not limited to, foster youth, veterans, economically disadvantaged students or those students who participate in extended opportunity programs and services, participants in disability services and programs for students, and students in Umoja, Puente, or Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) programs.

(3) Whether the student can provide a high school transcript, self-reports high school information, or uses self-placement or guided placement.

(i) (1) By July 1, 2023, all United States high school graduates, and those who have received a high school equivalency certificate, regardless of background or special population status, who plan to pursue a certificate, degree, or transfer program offered by the California Community Colleges, shall be directly placed into, and, when beginning coursework in English or mathematics, enrolled in, transfer-level English and mathematics courses.

(2) If the student has a declared academic goal, the mathematics and English coursework shall satisfy a requirement of the student’s intended certificate or associate degree or a requirement for transfer within the intended major.

(3) A community college shall not require students to repeat coursework that they have successfully completed in high school or college or take coursework that repeats competencies that the student has demonstrated through other methods of credit for prior learning.

(4) A community college shall not enroll into noncredit coursework students who have graduated from a United States high school or been issued a high school equivalency certificate, as a substitute or replacement for direct placement and enrollment into transfer-level English and mathematics coursework as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).

(j) The following are exceptions to transfer-level placement and enrollment into mathematics and English coursework, as described in subdivision (i):

(1) Students who have not graduated from a United States high school or been issued a high school equivalency certificate.

(2) Students enrolled in a certificate program without English or mathematics requirements.

(3) Students enrolled in a noncredit ESL course who have not graduated from a United States high school or been issued a high school equivalency certificate.

(4) Students with documented disabilities in educational assistance classes, as described in Section 56028 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, who are otherwise not able to benefit from general college classes even with appropriate academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services.

(5) Students enrolled in adult education programs who have not graduated from a United States high school or been issued a high school equivalency certificate.

(6) Students enrolled in adult education programs who are enrolled in coursework other than mathematics or English.

(7) Current high school students in dual enrollment or taking courses not available in their local high school.

(8) The community college has provided local research and data pursuant to subdivisions (e) and (f) to verify the benefit of the placement and enrollment into transfer-level coursework that does not satisfy a requirement for the intended certificate or associate degree or a requirement for transfer within the intended major.

(9) College-level placement and enrollment in lieu of transfer-level placement and enrollment may occur for:

(A) Students in career technical programs seeking a certificate or associate degree with specific requirements, as dictated by the program’s advisory or accrediting body, that cannot be satisfied with transfer-level coursework

(B) Specific subgroups of students for whom a community college district or community college has provided local research and data meeting the evidence standards pursuant to subdivisions (e) and (f) that allow for the placement and enrollment of the student subgroup into pretransfer-level mathematics or English coursework.

(k) (1) For students who need or desire extra academic support when enrolled in transfer-level mathematics or English coursework, community colleges shall provide access to tutoring, support-enhanced transfer-level mathematics and English courses, concurrent low-unit credit or similar contact hour noncredit corequisite coursework for transfer-level mathematics and English, or other academic supports.

(2) A community college may require students to enroll in additional concurrent support, including additional language support for ESL students, during the same term that they take a transfer-level English or mathematics course, if it is determined that the support will increase the student’s likelihood of passing the transfer-level English or mathematics course.

(3) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as limiting student access to additional concurrent support nor requiring students to enroll into concurrent supports.

(l) The Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges may require a community college or community college district to change or adopt a placement policy or practice identified by the chancellor’s office to ensure that a community college or community college district’s placement and enrollment of students into mathematics, English, and ESL is consistent with the requirements of this section.

(m) Nothing in this section is meant to add mathematics and English requirements to certificate programs that do not have mathematics or English requirements.

(n) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Assessment” means the process of gathering information about a student regarding the student’s study skills, English language proficiency, computational skills, aptitudes, goals, learning skills, career aspirations, academic performance, and need for special services. Assessment methods may include, but not necessarily be limited to, interviews, standardized tests, attitude surveys, vocational or career aptitude and interest inventories, high school or postsecondary transcripts, specialized certificates or licenses, educational histories, and other measures of performance.

(2) “Pretransfer level,” with respect to courses, includes basic skills, remedial, and college-level courses.

(3) “Transfer-level written communication” and “transfer-level quantitative reasoning” have the same meaning as transfer-level English and transfer-level mathematics, respectively.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 926, Sec. 3. (AB 1705) Effective January 1, 2023. Note: See provision in Section 78218 making operation contingent upon funding.)