BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 752| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 752 Author: Salas (D) Amended: 4/23/15 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/22/15 AYES: Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/1/15 AYES: Liu, Runner, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Hancock SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Private postsecondary education: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill requires the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, by July 1, 2016, to review the list of examinations prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education and if the Bureau determines there is no examination appropriate for ability-to-benefit students with limited English proficiency, to approve an alternative examination for these students. ANALYSIS: AB 752 Page 2 Existing law: 1)Establishes the California Private Postsecondary Education Act (Act) of 2009 until January 1, 2015, and requires the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (Bureau) within the Department of Consumer Affairs to, among other things, to review, investigate and approve private postsecondary institutions, programs and courses of instruction pursuant to the Act and authorizes the Bureau to take formal actions against an institution/school to ensure compliance with the Act and even seek closure of an institution/school if determined necessary. The Act also provides for specified disclosures and enrollment agreements for students, requirements for cancellations, withdrawals and refunds, and that the Bureau shall administer the Student Tuition Recovery Fund to provide refunds to students affected by the possible closure of an institution/school. (Education Code (EC) § 94800 et seq.) 2)Defines "Ability-to-benefit student" (ATB) as a student who does not have a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or a recognized equivalent of that certificate. Provides that before an ATB student may execute an enrollment agreement, the institution shall have the student take an independently administered examination from the list of examinations prescribed by the United States Department of Education (USDE). Specifies that the student may not enroll unless he or she achieves a score, as specified by USDE, demonstrating that the student may benefit from the education and training being offered. Authorizes the Bureau, if USDE does not have a list of relevant examinations that pertain to the intended occupational training, to publish its own list of acceptable examinations and required passing scores. (EC § 94811 and EC § 94904) 3)Specifies that an enrollment agreement shall be written in language that is easily understood and that if English is not the student's primary language, and the student is unable to understand the terms and conditions of the enrollment agreement, the student shall have the right to obtain a clear explanation of the terms and conditions and all cancellation and refund policies in his or her primary language. Also specifies that if the recruitment leading to enrollment was conducted in a language other than English, the enrollment AB 752 Page 3 agreement, disclosures, and statements shall be in that language. (EC § 94906) This bill requires the Bureau, on or before July 1, 2016, to review the list of examinations prescribed by USDE and if the Bureau determines there is no examination on the list appropriate for ATB students with limited English proficiency, requires the Bureau to approve an alternative examination for these students. Authorizes the Bureau, when approving the alternative examination, to consider the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) examination. Background Under Federal law, students without a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) can qualify for federal Title IV loans, grants, and campus-based aid if they pass an independently administered test of their basic math and English skills, called an ATB test. The intent of the test is to measure whether students have the basic skills needed to benefit from higher education and succeed in the institution. Tests are approved by the USDE and administered by an independent party. Under Title IV, students must pass an ATB before receiving any federal funds. The Act requires all institutions covered by the Act to administer ATB tests to students who have not obtained secondary education. Students must pass a USDE-approved ATB test before enrolling in the institution. The Bureau is also authorized to publish a list of eligible examinations if the USDE does not have a relevant examination. In 2012, out of concerns that existing USDE-approved ATB examinations were not appropriate for English as a second language students, the Act was amended to authorize the Bureau to publish a list of alternative examinations if the USDE does not have a relevant examination. The Bureau has yet to publish its own list and the Author is concerned that many working adults that do not have high school diplomas are seeking to enroll in job and skills training programs, but are having difficulty passing the USDE-approved ATB examinations, a problem that is disproportionality affecting those with limited English proficiency and low income communities. AB 752 Page 4 FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15) None received OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina Prepared by:Sarah Mason / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104 8/19/15 20:55:01 **** END **** AB 752 Page 5