Math Task Force agenda set for April 10:
California Community Colleges to send reps for AB1705 implementation update on its first semester
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(FEB. 10 ?, 2026) — Representatives from the California Community Colleges wil attend the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium’s (CVHEC) spring Math Task Force Convening, “The Central Valley Way to Math Success: 1705 Implementation” set for Friday, April 10 in Fresno.
Registration is now available for this free event at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in downtown Fresno (2233 Cesar Chavez Blvd.) which includes free breakfast and lunch.
The agenda released this month reflects workshops in two key areas of Assembly Bill 1705 (effective 2022) required for implementation last fall: calculus with corequisite and innovative calculus prerequisite courses.
The bill, a follow up to AB 705, requires the state’s community colleges to address inequitable access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) calculus and to ensure that pathways to calculus effectively support STEM programs.
Workshops will also include a report about gathering and analyzing data related to AB 1705, an update on University of California, Merced’s Online Advanced STEM Courses, and an approach to teaching math (Math Bridge) which may be the long-term solution to issues raised by AB 1705 .
Dr. John Spevak, CVHEC’s Math and English Task Forces lead, said the representatives from the CCC Chancellor’s Office and its Reporting Group component who will provide updates regarding implementation updates systemwide, are:
- Terrence Willett, visiting assistant vice chancellor for Research, Analytics and Data
- Alyssa T. Nguyen, senior director of Research and Innovation for the CCC RP Group
For the past two years, CVHEC’s Math Task Force – made up of math educators and administrators representing consortium member community colleges and their expanded math community to more than 100 today – rose to the challenge posed in the state legislation by convening regularly in person and virtually to share ways to approach a fall 2025 deadline to implement the bill’s requirements and now a fall 2027 deadline to statistically support the need for prerequisites courses to Calculus I.
Once that work was completed last spring, the MTF held three follow-up virtual sessions in the fall to assess progress for the implementation via Zoom Oct. 24, Nov. 7 and 21.
Now they will reconvene in person to see how the changes – and their input – fared in its first semester of implementation.
“By April 10, we should have data from the fall 2025 semester — the first one under the AB 1705 implementation requirements,” Spevak said. “We might have some statewide data by then, too.
“We will also share our successes and challenges this past fall, regarding especially any new and/or innovative courses that were implemented.”
Spevak said he “especially appreciates that the CCC Chancellor’s Office and RP Group are sending representatives to share the most up-to-date info regarding this first phase of the implementation.”
He added that the task force members are requested to enlist institutional researchers from their respective campuses who gather the implementation data to attend as well as one or more counselors who advise students about math course scheduling and other math colleagues.
“The more counselors know about the issues involved in AB 1705, the better they will be able to advise students,’ he explained.
As many as 100 math educators, researchers, counselors and administrators are anticipated for the event that will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning with opening remarks and brief introductions by CVHEC Executive Director Benjamín Durán at 9 a.m. following the opening breakfast.
The first two of four workshops will address the curriculum changes that were implemented:
- “Calculus with Corequisite,” (9:15-10 a.m.) led by Taft College math professor Shelley Getty
- “Innovative Calculus Prerequisite Course (10-10:45 a.m.) led by Fresno City College math professor Laurel Blackerby
Each moderator will report on the MTF’s fall zoom sessions held under those topics and then will encourage other college reps to share their respective implementation experiences and outcomes for fall 2025.
“The participants also will discuss tweaks, if any, in spring 2026 course pedagogy and provide an update on spring 2026 courses currently in-progress,” Spevak said.
Following those two sessions, Taft College math professor Nathan Cahoon will lead the workshop, “Gathering and Analyzing Data Related to AB 1705.”
The CCC officials will then offer their reflections about the discussions held in those first three sessions of the day.
Additionally, Willett will discuss in his session anticipated progress between now and AB1705’s 2027 deadline to provide data to support prerequisite courses to calculus. Nguyen also will provide a brief history of the research by the RP Group which led to the guidelines promulgated by the Chancellor’s Office.
After lunch, Rolin Moe, associate vice provost of UC Online, will present “Update on UC Merced’s Online Advanced STEM Courses” followed by Lynn Cevallos presenting the approach used by Math Bridge that has resulted in extraordinary student outcomes in math.
Then three breakout sessions will continue discussions begun in the first three sessions, led by the same facilitators: Calculus with Corequisite (Getty); Innovative Pre-Calculus (Blackerby); and Collecting and Analyzing Data (Cahoon).
The event concludes with report-outs from the breakout sessions and closing comments by Durán.
- Event questions: contact John Spevak at john.spevak@gmail.com or 209.752.8800 or Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC associate director, at angelr@mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.0576.
- Media inquiries: Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications lead – text 559.348.3278 or cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu
- To REGISTER and for event updates: see the MTF Convening event page, subscribe to the free CVHEC monthly e-newsletter or visit CVHEC social media platforms.
Agenda – “The Central Valley Way to Math Success: 1705 Implementation” Apr 10, 2026
See:
Math Task Force Landing Pagetgx
