BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 194 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 6, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 194 (Beall) - As Amended: March 24, 2011 Policy Committee: Higher EducationVote:7-2 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill requires each campus of the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC), and requests the University of California (UC), to give priority in enrollment in classes to foster youth and to former foster youth up to 24 years of age. FISCAL EFFECT 1)CSU indicates minor one-time IT costs of about $41,000 for 15 campuses to implement priority registration for foster youth. (The remaining eight CSU campuses already provide such priority registration.) UC and CCC campuses would incur minor absorbable costs to implement the priority registration. 2)To the extent providing priority registration for classes increases the success rate of these students, there could be state and local savings for services that might otherwise be provided to foster youth and former foster youth. COMMENTS 1)Background and Purpose . There are currently between 600 and 800 former foster youth attending UC, 1,200 attending CSU, and 6,500 attending CCC. According to a December 2005 report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy entitled, "Higher Education Opportunities for Foster Youth," of the foster youth who complete high school and are college qualified, only about 20% enrolled in higher education compared to about 60% of their peers. AB 194 Page 2 Beginning in 2012, and pursuant to AB 12(Beall)/Chapter 559 of 2010, foster youth may continue to receive foster care assistance with housing and other services until age 21, but this transitional assistance is contingent upon their participation in a school or work programs, pursuant to federal law. According to the author, for these students, getting access to the classes they need to graduate will help ensure that this vulnerable student population will get the support they need to not just enter college, but to succeed in getting a degree or certificate. 2)Prior Legislation . SB 272 (Runner)/Chapter 356 of 2007, granted priority enrollment to any member or former member of the U.S. Armed Forces within two years of leaving active duty. 3)Related Legislation . AB 649 (Harkey), pending in this committee, extends the priority enrollment of SB 272 from two years to five years after leaving active duty. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081