BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 968
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
968 (Williams)
As Introduced February 26, 2015
Majority vote
-------------------------------------------------------------------
|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Higher |12-0 |Medina, Baker, | |
|Education | |Bloom, Harper, | |
| | |Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Levine, Linder, | |
| | |Low, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
AB 968
Page 2
| | | | |
| | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Requires California public and private educational
institutions to indicate on student transcripts when a student has
been suspended or expelled. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the following findings and declarations:
a) At public and private colleges and universities across
California, the student academic transcript is recognized as
the official record of a student's academic progress from
admission until separation from the institution;
b) The transcript is often the only document that must
accompany a student in the process of transferring to another
institution, and it is thus important for both students and
institutions that the transcript accurately reflects the
student's performance;
c) A violation of a student code of conduct, including the
commission of sexual assault, can result in a student being
temporarily or permanently separated from an institution;
d) Significant inconsistencies exist in current policies and
practices related to the notation of disciplinary dismissals
on student transcripts;
e) The absence of this pertinent information can put a
receiving institution and its students at risk, and may raise
AB 968
Page 3
liability concerns for the institution from which the student
transfers; and,
f) The disclosure of student suspensions and expulsions on
student transcripts ensures the integrity and transparency of
student transcripts and the safety and security of California
campuses.
2)Requires the governing board of each community college district
(CCD), the Trustees of the California State University (CSU),
the Regents of the University of California (UC), the governing
body of each independent institution of higher education, and
the governing body of each private postsecondary educational
institution to indicate when a student is ineligible to reenroll
due to suspension or expulsion on the student's transcript for
the period of time the student is ineligible to reenroll.
3)Provides for reimbursement to CCD's if the Commission on State
Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the
state.
EXISTING LAW: Requires the UC Regents, the CSU Trustees, and the
governing board of every CCD to adopt specific rules governing
student behavior and applicable penalties for violations of the
rules; institutions must also adopt procedures by which students
are informed of rules and associated penalties. (Education Code
Section 66300)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, any costs to the UC would be minor and absorbable. The
CSU indicates that the bill's requirement is consistent with its
current policy. The CCDs would incur one-time state reimbursable
costs (General Fund Proposition 98 of 1988) estimated at $1,000 to
AB 968
Page 4
$3,000 per college, or $120,000 to $360,000 statewide.
COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. 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.
Existing practice among California's public institutions.
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 ineligible to reenroll due to
suspension or expulsion on the student's transcript for the period
of time the student is ineligible to reenroll.
National standard. The Association for Student Conduct
Administration (ASCA), a national membership based organization
that provides education and resources to facilitate best practices
of student conduct administration and conflict resolution on
college campuses, recommends that all institutions place an
appropriate notation on an academic transcript to indicate when a
student is ineligible to re-enroll at that institution as a
consequence of disciplinary action.
AB 968
Page 5
ASCA notes that transcript notations are important, but will not
be effective at reducing the risk of violence to a campus absent a
comprehensive approach to admissions, review of information, and
appropriate action based on that review. Thus, ASCA also
recommends that institutions:
1)Ask key questions to solicit information about a potential
student's conduct and/or criminal history prior to being
admitted to the institution;
2)Have systemic ways to review and utilize this information in
relevant admission decisions, as well as to promote individual
student success and safer campus communities;
3)Develop and communicate procedures explaining the notation,
duration of notation, and retention and release of records; and,
4)Communicate these practices to students through their
appropriate institutional privacy or other record policies,
including via website to current and prospective students.
Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0000743
AB 968
Page 6