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San Mateo Adult School Federation of Teachers 789 E. Poplar Ave. San Mateo, CA 94401 Anthony Rendon, Speaker of the Assembly Attention:  Rick Simpson State Capitol Room 219 Sacramento, CA 95814  May 21, 2016 Dear Speaker Rendon: We are writing to urge you to increase adult education funding from $500 million to $750 million in this year’s budget. California adult schools received $754 million in funding in 2007. Our budgets were cut drastically during the recession, and adult schools are the only public education system whose funding has not been restored. Also during the recession, school districts were allowed to take money from adult schools. Many districts closed their adult schools outright, while others cut adult school budgets by 50%, 75%, 95%. Oakland adult school, for example, had 25,000 students before the recession and now has less than 1,200. Even before the recession, adult schools were the most efficient public education system in the state. We educated 1.2 mil...

Assembly Member Patty Lopez produced the following fact sheet about AB1846.    Assembly Member Lopez authored the bill which is now co-authored by Republican Assembly Member Rocky Chavez and Democrat Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia . The bill goes to Assembly Appropriations on Wednesday, May 11, at 9 am in Room 4202.  The merits of the bill as it regards to its financial impact  will be heard at that time. Because of its cost, AB1846, like any bill over 150,000, will be moved to the suspense file.   There will be a suspense hearing later in the month.  If it passes through the suspense hearing, it will move to the Assembly floor. Here is the fact sheet, which outlines the bill, the reason it's needed, and its supporters: Hit the link to read it. AB1846:   Restoration of Adult Education Funding BILL SUMMARY   This bill will permanently restore adult education funding by appropriating an additional $250 million do...

A lot of information, insight, and wisdom is to be found in the comments on the Edsource article, " Bill Would Increase Funding for Adult Education by 250 Million ."  As of Wednesday evening, May 4, 2016, here are the comments so far: Jae Woon Jeong: I came from Korea last year and have been studying English at Pacific Grove Adult School since January, 2016. This English course is such a great opportunity that I can brush up on my English in writing, speaking, reading, and listening. This course is really helpful and useful for me to become a member of this community. Lacie M.: AB 86 required agencies serving adult learners to “come together” to avoid duplication of effort and align and consolidate services. This occurred after devastating funding cuts that left deserving adult learners out in the cold (relying more and more on tax-payer supported benefits) without options for learning English or gaining necessary skills for work. Now the consortia is meant to provide these c...

Adult Education Bill would increase funding for adult education by $250 million By Susan Frey | April 29, 2016 | 5 Comments Liv Ames for EdSource Hessam Ghajar, a recent immigrant from Iran, practices English with classmates in a San Mateo Adult School class. State legislators are considering a bill that would boost funding for adult education by $250 million – reinstating funds that were diverted to K-12 schools during the recession, causing many adult programs to close or cut back the number of classes they offered. “Every time I go back to my district, families ask when are the adult schools coming back, especially the English as a Second Language programs in local schools,” said Assemblywoman Patty Lopez , D-San Fernando, who has introduced Assembly Bill 1846 to increase funding. “There are 16,000 people on waiting lists for adult classes just in Los Angeles.” Adult schools provide free or low-cost classes to Californians who are too old for K-12 schools but not academically pre...

AB1846 , the bill that would increase funding for Adult Education by 250 million, will go to the Assembly Education Committee this Wednesday, April 20 at 1:30 in room 5160 .   If the bill becomes law, funding for Adult Education would increase to 750 million, which is more or less what it was prior to all the cuts. Attending the meeting and speaking in the public comment section at the end has an impact.  Particularly important are student voices.  Their experience and perspective matters very much. If you make the trip to Sacramento, make a day of it and visit other legislators while you are there.  You do not need to make an appointment - although making an appointment has merit.  Drop by the office of the legislators who represent you.  Speak to an aide if the Legislator is not there.  Express your support of AB1846 and explain why it's needed. If you can't make the trip to Sac, you can still make your voice heard by by contacting the...

An update from A4CAS (Alliance for California Adult Schools) on AB1846, the Patty Lopez bill that would increase funding from 500 million to 750 million: Great news! Assembly Bill 1846 (Lopez) passed through the Assembly's Higher Ed Committee yesterday with a unanimous YES vote (12-0). It will move to the Assembly's Education Committee next week, followed by the Appropriations Committee. After 1846 is passed by the Assembly, it moves to the Senate for passage, then back to the Assembly before landing on Governor Brown's desk. Voice your support for AB 1846 by contacting the Assembly's Education Committee before they meet to vote on it: http://a4cas.blogspot.com/…/state-assembly-education-commit… Read the bill here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml… ‪#‎ AllianceforCaliforniaAdultSchools The email contact links for Assembly Members won't work if you live outside the district they represent.  You can use the following format to contact a...