AB 1397 Summary

• Establishes the California Community Colleges Fair Accreditation Act of 2015, requiring accrediting agencies to include an appropriate percentage of academics on visiting accreditation teams and prohibiting team members with conflicts of interest from serving.

• Requires the accrediting agency to conduct open meetings of its decisionmaking body with agendas posted on its website and mailed to affected institutions at least 30 days in advance, and mandates that accreditation decisions be recorded and posted online.

• Requires institutions to receive advance notice of proposed visiting team reports and recommendations at least six weeks before decisionmaking meetings, allowing time to respond to factual errors or conclusions.

• Mandates preservation of all accreditation-related documents for at least 36 months, with reports and evaluations retained for two full accreditation cycles, 14 years, or the federally required period, whichever is longest.

• Allows institutions to appeal probation or more serious sanctions, requiring appeal panel members to file conflict-of-interest disclosures under penalty of perjury, and permits time period reductions only through a written declaration by the agency's chief executive officer citing exigent circumstances.