What to Know about Title 5 Flexible Calendar Regulations and How They Impact Faculty Professional Learning

Luke Lara
22 minutes ago
3 min read

By Luke Lara, FA Ombudsperson

The Title 5 regulations related to the Flexible Calendar Program were updated by the California Community College’s Board of Governors recently and filed with the Office of Administrative Law and the California Secretary of State recently, making the changes effective as of September 18, 2025. For all regulatory action, which has the weight of law, all California Community Colleges must conform their local policies and procedures within 180 days, putting the date of compliance at March 17, 2026. The Chancellor’s Office issued a memorandum on this topic that shares more background information.

At MiraCosta College, we colloquially use the term “FLEX” to refer to our professional learning obligations and the Flexible Calendar. Professional learning is an area of interest to both the Faculty Assembly (FA) and the Academic Senate (AS). The AS has purview over academic and professional matters (aka 10+1), including “Policies for faculty professional development activities.” At MiraCosta College, the Board of Trustees “relies primarily on the advice and judgment of the Academic Senate” on all academic and professional matters listed in Board Policy 2510. While the Academic Senate has an interest in what constitutes professional learning, the Faculty Assembly negotiates the working conditions impact, including requirements surrounding professional learning. These terms of FLEX and workload requirements are negotiated into the FA Collective Bargaining Agreement (mostly located in Article C).

The following sections provide a high level overview of the regulatory changes to the Flexible Calendar Program, the possible implications, the bottom line, what’s next, and resources for further research.

Summary of Regulatory Changes to Flexible Calendar Program

All employees are now under the Flexible Calendar Program (aka FLEX)
A campus-wide Professional Development Committee will report to College President
More activities can count as FLEX

Possible Implications

The new regulations may force a change in our governance structure for professional development. The Professional Development Committee is currently a subcommittee of the Academic Senate. (AS–academic and professional matter)
Faculty agency and autonomy over their professional learning activities and reporting may be challenged. (AS–academic and professional matter, and FA–subject to negotiation)
The district may want to require specific FLEX activities on certain FLEX days. (FA–subject to negotiation)
The district will need to address FLEX requirements for non-classroom faculty, which haven’t had a FLEX requirement since FLEX has been tied to instructional LHE. (FA-subject to negotiation)

Bottom Line

Policies for faculty professional development activities are an academic and professional matter (10+1), which at MiraCosta requires the district to RELY PRIMARILY on the advice and judgement of the Academic Senate (see Board Policy 2510).
The number of hours and requirements for specific days for FLEX are working conditions and the District must negotiate with FA over working conditions implications.

What’s Next?

Between now and March 17, 2026, the Academic Senate and the FA will work together strategically to address the possible implications of the Flexible Calendar Program changes. Rest assured that the FA and the AS are being proactive and will safeguard the essence of what faculty have come to enjoy about FLEX: the autonomy, flexibility, and agency in which we engage in professional learning to support our necessary areas of growth and development as professionals.

We encourage all faculty to pay close attention to discussions about FLEX, whether it is in the Academic Senate, PDP, and/or the FA. Get involved in the conversations, reach out to leadership when you have questions or concerns. Let us know your thoughts.