BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 595
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 595 (Gomez) - As Amended: April 15, 2013
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:12-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires districts of the California Community
Colleges (CCC) to grant course registration priority to students
in Community College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services
(EOPS) and to disabled students, within the meaning of the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
FISCAL EFFECT
Because districts are already providing registration priority to
EOPS and disabled students pursuant to CCC regulations, costs
should be negligible.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Current law grants priority enrollment to two
groups of students: current or former members of the Armed
Forces, and foster youth and former foster youth up to 24
years of age. In 2010-11, the CCC enrolled about 45,000
veterans and 7,000 foster youth, so together these groups
constituted only about two percent of total CCC enrollment. In
addition, the public higher education segments have
traditionally provided priority enrollment for students with
disabilities, participants in EOPS, and continuing students
nearing their education goals. (In 2010-11, EOPS and disabled
students totaled 174,000, or about six percent of CCC
enrollment.)
Pursuant to SB 1143 (Liu)/Chapter 409 of 2010, the CCC
Chancellor's Office convened a Student Success Task Force that
made 22 recommendations to increase the rate of student
AB 595
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completion, including better use of priority enrollment.
Regulations adopted in 2012 to implement this recommendation
specify the following priority enrollment tiers:
Tier 1 Active duty military and veteran students and
current and former foster youth who are new and fully
matriculated or in good standing
Tier 2 New and continuing fully matriculated EOPS and
Disabled Student Program Services (DSPS) students in
good standing
Tier 3 Students in good standing and new, fully
matriculated students
Under these regulations, districts may provide students in
Tiers 1 and 2 with the same level of registration priority as
long as a district ensures students in Tier 1 receive priority
as statutorily required for veterans and foster youth.
2)Purpose . According to the author, "Until 2013, participants of
EOPS and DSPS, along with veterans and foster youth, shared
priority enrollment in community colleges without impacting
enrollment access for any of these populations through long
standing regulations as these programs were created before the
term "priority enrollment" had been established in the Ed
code. Existing law now codifies priority enrollment for
veterans and foster youth, but needs to be updated to include
EOPS and DSPS."
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081