AB811, a California State Bill to reform course repeatability at Community Colleges, was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The bill would’ve allowed students to repeat courses they had previously passed up to two times. The bill applied to courses in art, humanities, foreign language, kinesiology and English as a Second Language.
While some exemptions had existed previously, they were on a limited case-by-case basis, such as student athletes in sport-specific conditioning classes. The financial conditions of 2012 are responsible for the initial ban on repeatability; the state saw removing course repetition as a way to reduce costs without impacting student transfers.
In February of this year, Assemblymember Mike Fong (D, Alhambra) sought to repeal the ban on course repetition. He and other proponents argued allowing repeatability increases opportunity, and thus equity for students.
Opponents argued it would do the opposite, saying students repeating courses could use up valuable financial aid. However, the bill required colleges to notify students of any impact on their financial aid from repeated courses.
At Citrus, there isn’t a unanimous consensus in support of the veto.
“So with guided pathways you want students to progress in their studies,” said Anthony Delgado, research analyst at Citrus, “so like if you’re repeating courses, you’re in a sense, taking away the opportunity to take other courses.” Chris Styles, a Professor who teaches economics at Citrus, said she believed repeatability can be useful for certain students. Styles said repeatability is “really useful for students who want a refresher class, particularly helpful for students who are going into graduate school and have to take a graduate test for economics.”
She also pointed out it can be useful for students returning from a gap year or those going to teach high school courses of similar material.
The bill would have increased enrollment at community colleges, which is a goal of the state and the governor, but could lead to excess units that don’t aid in transfers. Newsom also worried repeatability would lead to unnecessary use of state funding by community colleges.
Colleges adapted to the 2012 rules by adding tiered versions of the same course; for example, requiring additional assignments for high tiers, despite students of varying tiers sharing a course lecture or lab. The chances of the governor’s veto being overridden are slim, as an override hasn’t occurred since 1979.
