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 AB 1663 Page 2 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 AB 1663 Page 3 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 AB 1663 Page 4 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 AB 1663 Page 5 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.