BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 968
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
968 (Williams)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | 80-0 |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: |39-0 |(September 9, |
| | | | | |2015) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
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
AB 968
Page 2
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 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 CCDs only, the aforementioned requirement to
become operative on July 1, 2016.
4)Provides for reimbursement to CCD's if the Commission on State
Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
AB 968
Page 3
the state.
The Senate amendments delay implementation for CCDs until July
1, 2016 and add coauthors.
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 Senate Appropriations
Committee, costs likely ranging from about $200,000 to $300,000
for CCCs to develop and implement the required notation on
student transcripts. These costs could be required to be
reimbursed by the state if the Commission on State Mandates
determines this bill to impose a state mandate. If determined a
mandate, it could create pressure to increase the CCC mandate
block grant to reflect the new mandate (Proposition 98 of 1988).
UC and CSU do not anticipate additional costs.
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
AB 968
Page 4
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.
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,
AB 968
Page 5
including via website to current and prospective students.
Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0002274