Adult Education Recommendation 38

Considering the critical importance of the role of adult education for the future of the state of California, it is surprising how little serious thought it appears to have received in the Master Plan.  The fact is, the adult continuing education programs that serve more than one million students across the state rate barely a mention in the draft.  
	With absolutely no analysis or data to support it, Recommendation 38 proposes a major shift in governing responsibility to the community college system. Such a radical change would unavoidably disrupt programs that are currently successfully serving California's most needy populations, weaken community control, increase costs, and heighten tension between various sectors of the education community.
	To provide the scope and caliber of education and training services required by the citizens of California, we will need the full collaboration and enthusiastic support of all educators, regardless if they come from the community colleges or K-12 adult education system.  The "quick fix" proposed by Recommendation 38 will create more problems than it solves, and is unworthy of the important issues it seeks to resolve.  
A Master Plan that will inspire and guide the task of improving the lives of California's adults and their families through education and training should include a revised Recommendation 38 that reads:

"The State should direct the California Community Colleges and California Department of Education to collaborate in developing a plan to share oversight for adult continuing education with the goal to establish a seamless system that promotes access, program coordination, alignment and operational efficiencies, and should submit that plan to the Legislature for adoption."