BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                             Alan Lowenthal, Chair
                           2011-2012 Regular Session
                                        

          BILL NO:       AB 1663
          AUTHOR:        Dickinson
          AMENDED:       April 11, 2012
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  June 13, 2012
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez

           SUBJECT  :  Pupil instruction: California State Summer School 
          for Mathematics 
                    and Science.
          
           SUMMARY 

          This bill continues the request to the Regents of the 
          University of California (UC) to set a tuition fee for the 
          California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science 
          program that corresponds to actual program costs, however 
          the measure allows fees up to but not exceeding $2,810 per 
          session in the year 2012, and establishes this amount as 
          the base for future 5% annual fee increases.

           BACKGROUND  

          Current law:

          1)   Establishes the California State Summer School for 
               Mathematics and Science program (also known as COSMOS) 
               to provide an intensive academic experience for pupils 
               who wish to learn advanced mathematics and science and 
               prepare to pursue careers in those areas. 

          2)   Requests the Regents of the UC to operate the program 
               and to set a tuition fee within a range that 
               corresponds to actual program costs, up to but not 
               exceeding $1,000 in the year 2000, and to increase 
               this fee by an amount of up to 5% each year 
               thereafter.  In addition, the UC is permitted to 
               charge an application fee of up to twenty dollars 
               ($20).

          3)   Specifies that pupils who have demonstrated academic 
               excellence in mathematics and science and who meet 




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               specified criteria shall be eligible for admission.

          4)   Expresses the intent of the Legislature that at least 
               50% but not more than 75% of the actual costs of the 
               California State Summer School for Mathematics and 
               Science program would be financed by state funds and 
               the balance of the operating costs would be financed 
               with fees and private support.  (Education Code § 
               8660-8669.1)
           


          ANALYSIS  

          This bill continues the request to the Regents of the 
          University of California (UC) to set a tuition fee for the 
          California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science 
          program that corresponds to actual program costs, however 
          the measure allows fees up to but not exceeding $2,810 per 
          session in the year 2012, and establishes this amount as 
          the base for future 5% annual fee increases.

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Need for the bill  .  The author states, "This bill 
               represents a clarifying technical fix to the Education 
               Code to reflect the tuition that COSMOS is charging 
               California residents for 2012 ($2,810) - and would 
               request that the UC Regents continue to raise annual 
               tuition for California residents by no more than 5% 
               annually. Current Education Code language is outdated 
               because it references the year 2000, with a tuition 
               level of $1,000, as the base for future tuition 
               increases.  Legislation in 2005 raised the tuition 
               level beyond the 2000 base amount but was rendered 
               inoperative two years later, creating a need to update 
               the Education Code."  
                
                The University of California, the sponsor of this 
               bill, contends that the fact that the 2005 statute 
               sunset and became inoperative and not extended was an 
               inadvertent oversight on the part of the UC and this 
               bill seeks to correct it.  According to the UC, 
               establishing the fees at the current levels will 
               ensure that the program continues to serve and admit 
               students at a level consistent with the number of 




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               pupils the program has served over the years.    

           2)   A little bit of history  .  In 1998, Chapter 805 (AB 
               2536, Poochigian) enacted the California State Summer 
               School for Mathematics and Science, at that time it 
               was envisioned the program would be administered by 
               the State Board of Education; this statute made no 
               reference to a tuition or fee level.  

               In 1999, the statute was modified by Chapter 78 (AB 
               1115, Strom-Martin) a budget trailer bill to request 
               the University of California operate the program.  AB 
               1115 provided that the UC Regents may set a tuition 
               fee within a range that corresponds to actual program 
               costs, up to but not exceeding $1,000 per session in 
               the year 2000, and may increase this fee by an amount 
               up to 5% each year thereafter.  From the year 2000 to 
               2005 the program fees were increased by 5% each year.  


               Chapter 676, Statutes of 2005 (SB 755, Poochigian) 
               increased the tuition level to a maximum of $2,200 for 
               the year 2006 to align tuition with the actual cost of 
               operating the program at that time.  By its own terms, 
                      SB 755 was in effect for two years and became 
               inoperative and repealed on January 1, 2008.  The 
               shorten period of time, prior to the inoperative date 
               was for the purpose of providing a reasonable 
               transition period to continue the program and for the 
               UC to pursue changes via a policy measure, rather than 
               a budget trailer bill or end of session sleight of 
               hand.  

               As previously noted, UC did not pursue a legislative 
               policy remedy, however, the tuition fees were not 
               restored to the 2005 level, but rather continued to 
               increase by 5% every year, thus resulting in a tuition 
               fee of $2,810 for the year 2012.  In addition, UC is 
               now charging a $30 application fee. 

           3)   Program background and evaluation results  .  The 
               California State Summer School for Mathematics and 
               Science (also known as, COSMOS) is an intensive 
               four-week summer residential program for pupils with a 
               goal of engaging highly talented and motivated pupils 
               in an intensive program of study, experimentation, and 




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               activities to further their interest in the science, 
               technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 
               fields.  Pupils completing grades 8-12 have the 
               opportunity to work with faculty, researchers, and 
               scientists while exploring advanced STEM topics beyond 
               those usually offered in California high schools.  The 
               program exists at four UC campuses: Davis, Irvine, San 
               Diego, and Santa Cruz.  
                
                According to the UC report on COSMOS from 2006-2010, 
               demographic information of student participants shows 
               gender participation in the program is equally split 
               between male and female.  Ethnicity of participants, 
               from the same time frame, shows that Asian students 
               made up 48.1% of participants followed by 24.2% White, 
               17.5% Chicano/Latino, 2.3% African American, and 0.3% 
               American Indian pupils. 

               Reports on COSMOS contain evidence supporting the 
               assertion that COSMOS is realizing the short-term 
               goals the Legislature intended by providing 
               outstanding students opportunities to explore STEM 
               disciplines.  There is some evidence that supports the 
               notion that student participation in COSMOS is having 
               the desired mid- to long-term effects of encouraging 
               participants to pursue STEM disciplines as 
               undergraduates and graduate students, and in their 
               careers.  From calendar years 2006-2010, approximately 
               3,154 students participated in COSMOS.   Using 
               available National Student Clearinghouse data UC 
               tracked 2,355 COSMOS graduates (75% of COSMOS 
               graduates) enrolled in colleges and universities.  Of 
               the 2,355 COSMOS graduates, 2,080 enrolled at 
               four-year colleges (1,297 at UC campuses) and 250 
               enrolled at community colleges. Of the students who 
               enrolled at a UC campus, 1,114 students have declared 
               a STEM major. 

           4)   Constitutional autonomy and statutory interaction . 
               Current statutes provide guidelines for tuition fees, 
               eligibility criteria, and other program elements, 
               relative to the operation of COSMOS.  Nevertheless 
               these statues request, and do not require, the UC 
               Regents to operate the program as outlined in the 
               statutes.  The UC's constitutional autonomy places 
               limitations on legislative control over the UC.  The 




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               California Constitution (Section 9 of Article IX) 
               establishes UC as a public trust and confers the full 
               powers of the operation and governance upon the UC 
               Regents.  The Constitution establishes that the UC is 
               subject to legislative control only to the degree 
               necessary to ensure the security of its funds and 
               compliance with the terms of its endowments.  However, 
               it can be argued that the UC's failure to restore the 
               fees to the 2005 levels was inconsistent with 
               legislative intent.  

               Given the arduous legislative history and UC missteps 
               in complying with state laws of what can be described 
               as a successful program, staff recommends amendments 
               that:

               (1) Provides for a sunset in five years of Education 
               Code § 8669 that "establishes" a base fee of $2,810 
               for this program; and

                (2) Amends EC § 8664 to permit an applicant fee not 
               to exceed thirty dollars ($30), another overlooked 
               statute that UC is technically not in compliance with.

          5)   Previous legislation  :  Senate Bill 755 (Poochigian), 
               Chapter 676, Statutes of 2005 changes some 
               requirements of the STAR program and increased the 
               tuition cap of the COSMOS program to $2,200 for the 
               years 2006 and 2007, and repealed these provisions on 
               January 1, 2008.

           SUPPORT  

          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
          Employees
          University of California

           OPPOSITION

           None on file.