BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 288
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
288 (Holden) - As Amended April 22, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes school districts and community college
districts (CCDs) to enter into College and Career Access
Pathways (CCAP) partnerships, as specified, to provide seamless
pathways from high school to community college for career
AB 288
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technical education (CTE) or preparation for transfer, improving
high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils to
achieve college and career readiness. Specifically, this bill:
1)Allows a CCD, as part of a partnership, to assign priority for
enrollment and course registration-for a pupil seeking to
enroll in a course under his or her CCAP partnership
program-equivalent to the priority assigned to a middle
college high school student.
2)Authorizes a CCD to limit enrollment in a community college
course, pursuant to a partnership agreement, which is solely
offered to high school students if held on a high school
campus during the school day.
3)Provides that a CCD may allow a high school student, pursuant
to a partnership, to enroll in up to 15 units (up to 4
courses) per term that are part of an academic program
designed to award the student a high school diploma and an
associate's degree, and provides that the CCD shall be
credited with the attendance attributable such pupils for
purposes of state apportionment.
4)Prohibits a district from receiving a state apportionment for
an instructional activity for which the partnering district is
paid an apportionment.
5)Requires partnering districts to report specified data
annually to the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges (CCC), who must transmit the report to the
Legislature, the Governor, and the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
AB 288
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FISCAL EFFECT:
1)To the extent CCDs can claim apportionment funding for
additional concurrently enrolled students, there will be
increased General Fund (Prop 98) costs. The equivalent of only
33 additional full-time equivalent students (FTES) statewide,
at the current funding rate of $4,676 per FTES would exceed
$150,000. To the extent, however, that community colleges as a
whole are already using all state funds apportioned for
enrollment, the bill will result in unknown Prop 98 cost
pressure to allocate additional state funding to the CCC's for
enrollment growth.
2)To the extent the bill results in more students accelerating
their postsecondary education-by reducing their need for
post-high school remediation and/or by reducing their time to
degree-the state and students will benefit from these
efficiencies. To the extent more students obtain needed
remediation through community college courses, rather than
upon entering the California State University, the state will
realize savings equal to the difference in state support per
student between the two segments.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Concurrent enrollment provides pupils the
opportunity to enroll in college courses and earn college
credit while still enrolled in high school. A pupil is
allowed to concurrently enroll in a CCC as a "special admit"
while still attending high school, if the pupil's school
district determines that the pupil would benefit from
"advanced scholastic or vocational work." Special-admit
students have typically been advanced pupils wanting to take
more challenging coursework or pupils who come from high
schools where Advanced Placement or honors courses are not
widely available. Additionally, programs such as middle
college high schools and early college high schools use
concurrent enrollment to offer instructional programs for
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at-risk pupils that focus on college preparatory curricula.
2)Purpose. The author states, "Gradually more students are
entering community colleges and some CSUs [California State
University] assessing below college-level. Consequently, more
courses are being offered on their respective campuses to
prepare students for college level coursework." The author
contends that, "This measure will increase the accessibility
of concurrent enrollment programs in order to continue to
achieve the goal of helping low achieving students integrate
into a college environment, increase the likelihood a degree
program will be completed, decrease the length of time to
complete a degree program, and stimulate interest in higher
education among high school students."
3)Related Legislation. AB 889 (Chang), also on today's committee
agenda, provides for partnership agreements between districts
and CCDs so that students can take STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) courses at a community college
if the student has exhausted all opportunities to enroll for
such courses in the district.
AB 542 (Wilk), pending on this committee's Suspense file,
allows a student attending an early or middle college high
school (E/MCHS), who is enrolled in a community college
physical education (P. E.) course required for the student's
E/MCHS program, to not be considered as a special part-time or
full-time student for purposes of existing enrollment caps on
special part-time and full-time students.
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4)Prior Legislation. AB 1451 (Holden) of 2014, which was similar
to this bill, was held on Suspense in Senate Appropriations.
In 2011, AB 160 (Portantino), which also authorized concurrent
enrollment partnerships, was held on Suspense in Senate
Appropriations.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081