BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1663
          Author:   Dickinson (D)
          Amended:  6/20/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 6/13/12
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price, 
            Simitian, Vargas
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Blakeslee, Vacancy

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 5/7/12 - See last page for vote


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

           SOURCE  :     University of California


           DIGEST  :    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 (COSMOS) that corresponds to actual program 
          costs, however this bill 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.  This bill also increases the application 
          fee to an amount not exceeding $30.  This bill sunsets 
          January 1, 2018.

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           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Establishes the 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 $20.

          3. Specifies that pupils who have demonstrated academic 
             excellence in mathematics and science and who meet 
             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 
             COSMOS would be financed by state funds and the balance 
             of the operating costs would be financed with fees and 
             private support.  (Education Code Section 8660-8669.1)

          This bill continues the request to the Regents of the UC to 
          set a tuition fee for the COSMOS that corresponds to actual 
          program costs, however this bill 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.

          This bill also increases the application fee to an amount 
          not exceeding $30.

          This bill sunsets January 1, 2018.

           Comments
           
           A little bit of history  .  In 1998, AB 2536 (Poochigian), 
          Chapter 805, Statutes of 1998, enacted the COSMOS, at that 
          time it was envisioned the program would be administered by 
          the State Board of Education; this statute made no 

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          reference to a tuition or fee level.  

          In 1999, the statute was modified by AB 1115 
          (Strom-Martin), Chapter 78, Statutes of 1999, a Budget 
          Trailer Bill to request the UC operate the COSMOS.  The 
          bill 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. 
           
          SB 755 (Poochigian), Chapter 676, Statutes of 2005, 
          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, the 
          bill 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 
          COSMOS 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. 

           COSMOS background and evaluation results  .  The 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 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.  COSMOS exists at four UC 
          campuses:  Davis, Irvine, San Diego, and Santa Cruz.  

          According to the UC report on COSMOS from 2006-2010, 

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          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. 

           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 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.  

           Prior legislation  .  SB 755 (Poochigian), Chapter 676, 

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          Statutes of 2005, changed some requirements of the 
          Standardized Testing and Reporting 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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/2/12)

          University of California (source)
          AFSCME

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    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 UC, 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 pupils the program has 
          served over the years.    


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 5/7/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, 
            Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, 
            Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, 

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            Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, 
            Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, 
            Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, 
            Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. 
            Manuel Pérez, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, 
            John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Brownley, Fletcher, Furutani, Hall, 
            Mansoor, Portantino


          PQ:k  7/2/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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