BILL NUMBER: AB 2548	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ting

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to add Section 33318.6 to the Education Code, relating to
postsecondary education.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2548, as amended, Ting. Postsecondary education.
   Existing law vests specified powers and duties in the State
Department of Education for purposes of the public education system.
   Existing law sets forth the functions and responsibilities of the
California Postsecondary Education Commission in its capacity as the
statewide postsecondary education planning and coordinating agency
and adviser to the Legislature and the Governor. In particular, the
commission is required to review all proposals for changes in
eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments
of postsecondary education and to make recommendations to the
Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of postsecondary
education. In carrying out this requirement, the commission is
required to periodically conduct a study of the percentages of
California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for
admission to the University of California and the California State
University.
   This bill  would make findings and declarations concerning the
importance of university eligibility studies and noting that, since
the commission ceased operations, these studies have not been
conducted. The bill  would require the State Department of
Education to periodically conduct studies  , but no more
frequently than every 4 years,  of the percentages of California
public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission
to the University of California and the California State University.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION   1.    The Legislature finds and
declares all of the following:  
   (a) University eligibility studies are an important planning tool
for the University of California and the California State University
systems and help determine if the systems are drawing from their
eligibility pools set by the state's Master Plan for Higher
Education. University eligibility studies also reveal important
trends about the state's college-ready high school populations that
can help inform elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education
policy.  
   (b) University eligibility studies were previously conducted
periodically by the California Postsecondary Education Commission,
until the commission ceased operations in 2011. A university
eligibility study has not been conducted since 2007.  
   (c) Despite the absence of the California Postsecondary Education
Commission, it is still important for the state to have measures in
place to determine whether the University of California and the
California State University are carrying out their goals to ensure
student access and success.  
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to periodically require a
university eligibility study to be conducted that is similar in scope
to the study formerly done by the California Postsecondary Education
Commission. 
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 33318.6
is added to the Education Code, to read:
   33318.6.  The Department of Education shall periodically conduct
studies of the percentages of California public high school graduates
estimated to be eligible for admission into the University of
California and the California State University.    The
Department of Education shall work collaboratively with the
University of California and the California State University to use
existing vendors to conduct the study as efficiently as possible. The
study shall be conducted no more frequently than every four years.