BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1741 (Rodriguez) - California College Promise Innovation
Grant Program
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Version: August 2, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Hearing Date: August 8, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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
AB 1741 (Rodriguez) Page 1 of
?
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
AB 1741 (Rodriguez) Page 2 of
?
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.
AB 1741 (Rodriguez) Page 3 of
?
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
AB 1741 (Rodriguez) Page 4 of
?
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.
-- END --