BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 968 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 968 (Williams) - As Introduced February 26, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Higher Education |Vote:|12 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill requires the governing body of each public and private postsecondary educational institution to indicate on a student's transcript if a student is ineligible to reenroll due to AB 968 Page 2 suspension or expulsion, for the period of time the student is ineligible to reenroll. FISCAL EFFECT: Any costs to the University of California would be minor and absorbable. The California State University indicates that the bill's requirement is consistent with its current policy. The California Community Colleges would incur one-time state reimbursable costs (GF Prop. 98) estimated at $1,000 to $3,000 per college, or $120,000 to $360,000 statewide. COMMENTS: Purpose. According to the author, ensuring that the various university campuses are communicating with each other is a vital step toward providing a safe learning environment for students. A standard notation on a student's transcript will notify the university to perform a background check on the potential transfer student so they can best determine whether they should enroll the student into their university. California's public postsecondary education institutions do not currently follow a standard method of noting on an academic transcript when a student is suspended or expelled. UC makes a general notation when a student is expelled. CSU makes a general notation if the student is expelled, or suspended for one academic year or more. Committee staff understands that CCDs provide for a notation on the transcript if a student was expelled for academic reasons, but that there is no standard for notations for students expelled for reasons other than academic deficiencies. This bill would require all California institutions, public and private, to indicate when a student is AB 968 Page 3 ineligible to reenroll due to suspension or expulsion on the student's transcript for the period of time the student is ineligible to reenroll. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081