In the California Community Colleges (CCC), noncredit adult education courses provide remedial, developmental, occupational, and other educational opportunities for students who do not need to obtain unit credit at the time of enrollment. Of California's 107 community colleges, 95 offer noncredit instruction. Community colleges, together with high schools and unified school districts with adult schools, serve approximately 2 million students each year. It is estimated that in 1991-92, the CCC's will enroll almost 230,000 students in noncredit courses. As a result of numerous studies citing the lack of consistent and coordinated delivery of educational services to California's adult population, and in light of the growing population of students requiring English a Second Language (ESL) and literacy instruction, the Chancellor's Office for the CCC and the State Department of Education appointed the Adult Education Interim Steering Committee, which includes representatives of all noncredit adult education providers in the state. During the last 2 years, the Steering Committee has focused on three major issues: accountability, quality, and funding and access. To date, the Steering Committee has helped field test quality standards and performance measures for ESL; established local planning consortia to develop data elements for a statewide information management system; and developed a prototype tracking system to cover all providers of adult instruction. A review of future planned activities of the Steering Committee is included. A history of legislative efforts in California, which have led to existing policies for adult education, and an outline of recommendations for improving the adult education system statewide are appended. (PAA)