BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          SB 650 (Lowenthal)
          
          Hearing Date: 05/16/2011        Amended: 05/10/2011
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 9-0
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: SB 650 would authorize Long Beach Community 
          College District (LBCCD) to admit students who are participants 
          in the College Promise Partnership, to any community college 
          under its jurisdiction as a special part-time or full-time 
          student and to permit assigned priority for enrollment and 
          course registration for these pupils. 
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2011-12      2012-13       2013-14        Fund
                                                                      
          Authorizes partnership                Likely minor, 
          non-reimbursable costs     Local/General*

          *Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding 
          guarantee.
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
          STAFF COMMENTS:

          This bill would enact the College Promise Partnership Act; it 
          would permit the LBCCD and the Long Beach Unified School 
          District (LBUSD) enter into a partnership to provide pupils with 
          an aligned sequence of high school coursework that leads to 
          college courses, as specified. This bill would also permit LBCCD 
          to give participating LBUSD high school students priority 
          enrollment and course registration, and specifically allows for 
          concurrent enrollment.

          The Long Beach "College Promise" is a nationally recognized 
          program that provides early and sustained outreach to students 
          and families through college transition, academic support and 
          guidance, guaranteed admission to California State University, 
          Long Beach, and a tuition-free first semester at LBCCD.  This 
          bill intends to expand on that existing program and codify it in 
          statute.








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          This bill requires the LBCCD to implement the partnership in a 
          manner that does not result in increased allocations from the 
          General Fund for the LBCCD. The bill specifies requirements for 
          determining apportionments to LBCCD and LBUSD, to ensure 
          students are not being double-counted. This bill would also 
          require LBCCD, should it decide to enter into the authorized 
          partnership, to provide for an independent evaluation of the 
          partnership to be presented to the Chancellor of the California 
          Community Colleges and the Legislature. This bill provides that 
          the evaluation shall be funded by partnership members.

          This bill authorizes LBCCD and LBUSD to enter into a 
          partnership, but does not require it. Should the entities decide 
          to pursue a partnership, any costs (including the evaluation) 
          would be absorbed by their respective budgets. Staff notes that 
          those budgets are, however, ultimately provided by the state 
          General Fund.