BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 1741 (Rodriguez) - California College Promise Innovation  
          Grant Program
          
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          |Version: August 2, 2016         |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 8, 2016    |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.




          


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill establishes the California College Promise  
          Innovation Grant Program (Program) to be administered by the  
          California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office until January  
          1, 2021.  The purpose of the Program is to support community  
          colleges in establishing or expanding regional programs to  
          address college preparedness, attendance, and graduation in  
          partnership with school districts and public postsecondary  
          universities in California.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           The Chancellor's Office indicates that $120,000 General Fund  







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            would be needed for staff to administer this program.


           This bill requires that the Chancellor's Office distribute  
            grants, upon an appropriation by the Legislature.  The Budget  
            Act of 2016 (SB 826, Leno) provides $15 million one-time  
            Proposition 98 for California College Promise Innovation  
            Grants to be allocated and spent pursuant to pending  
            legislation.  This bill provides the implementing legislation.  





          Background:  According to the author, this bill is inspired by the success  
          of Long Beach College Promise and other similar programs.  It  
          will incentivize community college districts to enter into  
          similar partnerships with their local school districts and  
          community organizations and allow existing programs to be  
          expanded.  
          The Long Beach Promise Program was established as a  
          collaborative partnership between the Long Beach Unified School  
          District (LBUSD), the Long Beach City College (LBCC), and the  
          California State University at Long Beach (CSULB) with the  
          general goals of increasing college preparation, college access,  
          and ultimately college success.  The partnership provides  
          participating students with an aligned sequence of rigorous high  
          school and college coursework.  It provides a bridge to college  
          for students not already college bound and to allow advanced  
          students to complete programs faster.  The program reports that  
          since 2008 LBUSD students have seen a 34 percent gain in  
          admission to CSULB, LBCC transfer students are admitted to CSULB  
          at a rate of 18 percent higher than applicants from other  
          community colleges.  


          In 2011, SB 650 (Lowenthal, Chapter 633, Statutes of 2011)  
          authorized the partnership in statute and granted greater  
          flexibility in the program's implementation than normally  
          allowed for dual enrollment programs.  These provisions are  
          scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2017. 


          This bill requires a grant applicant to include partnership with  








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          school to establish a program consistent with the intent of the  
          Early Commitment to College Program (ECCP).  Existing law  
          establishes the ECCP with voluntary participation by pupils and  
          school districts, for the purposes increasing college attendance  
          and success rates among low-income students.  The program  
          requires participating school districts to provide college  
          information and college preparation events to students who sign  
          the "Save Me a Spot in College" pledge.  A student who signs the  
          pledge declares a commitment to prepare for college, finish high  
          school, and enroll in college and commits to do, among other  
          things, enroll in college preparatory coursework.  The  
          Superintendent of Public Instruction administers the voluntary  
          program and it is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2019.  
          (Education Code § 54710, et seq.)




          Proposed Law:  
            This bill establishes the California College Promise  
          Innovation Grant Program (Program) to be administered by the  
          Chancellor's Office until January 1, 2021.  
          The goal of the Program is to support community college  
          districts in establishing or expanding regional California  
          College Promise programs in partnership with school districts  
          and public postsecondary universities in California to:


           Increase college readiness among high school students.


           Increase the number of high school graduates who are placed in  
            college-level math and English at a public postsecondary  
            university in California.


           Increase the percentage of students who earn associate degrees  
            or career technical education certificates.


           Increase the percentage of community college transfer students  
            to a public postsecondary university in California.










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           Increase the percentage of students who graduate with a  
            bachelor's degree.


           Reduce and eliminate achievement gaps for students from groups  
            that are underrepresented in postsecondary education, as  
            specified.


           Leverage existing local and state resources to better align  
            efforts to improve student success.



          For a governing board of a community college district to receive  
          a grant, it must demonstrate in its application that it will  
          partner with one or more school districts or California State  
          University or University of California campuses to expand a  
          California College Promise program.  The program must include  
          all of the following practices:


           Partnering with one or more school districts to establish an  
            Early Commitment to College Program.


           Partnering with one or more school districts to improve  
            college preparedness and reduce postsecondary remediation.


           Utilizing evidence-based placement and student assessment  
            indicators at the community college district that include  
            multiple measures of performance.


           Providing students who are enrolled at the community college  
            district with access to courses to keep on track to graduate,  
            transfer to a public postsecondary university, or earn a  
            career technical education certificate.


           Provide outreach to students who are enrolled at a community  
            college regarding the Associate Degrees for Transfer and the  
            California Community College Transfer Entitlement Cal Grant  








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            program.


          First priority for funding goes to an application that  
          demonstrates that it identifies local public and private sources  
          of funding to develop sustainable programs or leverages new or  
          existing local and state funding to better align efforts to  
          improve student success.


          Second priority for funding goes to applications that  
          demonstrate at least one of the following: (1) the development  
          of partnerships with school districts located predominately  
          within the district's residential boundaries; (2) provides  
          services to a greater proportion of students; and (3) develops  
          at least one partnership with a CSU campus with the goal of  
          guaranteeing admission and seamless transfer to the campus.  




          Staff  
          Comments:  According to the Administration, the California  
          College Promise Innovation Grants are to support better  
          coordination between local educational agencies and community  
          colleges and outreach to students to put them on a path to  
          success in college.


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