Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1837


Introduced by Assemblybegin delete Memberend deletebegin insert Membersend insert Lowbegin insert and Eggmanend insert

February 9, 2016


begin deleteAn act relating to postsecondary education. end deletebegin insertAn act to add and repeal Article 2.6 (commencing with Section 66010.96) of Chapter 2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1837, as amended, Low. Postsecondary education: Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability.

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(1) Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in this state.

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Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that budget and policy decisions regarding postsecondary education generally adhere to 3 specified goals and that appropriate metrics be identified, defined, and formally adopted to monitor progress toward the achievement of the goals.

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Existing law establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the statewide postsecondary education coordinating and planning agency, and provides for its functions and responsibilities. Existing law also provides for the composition of CPEC’s membership. The annual state Budget Acts from the 2011-12 fiscal year to the 2015-16 fiscal year, inclusive, have provided no funding for CPEC.

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This bill would establish the Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability as the statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning entity. The bill would provide for the appointment by the Governor, subject to confirmation by a majority of the membership of the Senate, of an executive director of the office. The bill would establish an 8-member advisory board for the purpose of examining, and making recommendations to, the office regarding the functions and operations of the office and reviewing and commenting on any recommendations made by the office to the Governor and the Legislature, among other specified duties.

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The bill would specify the functions and responsibilities of the office, which would include, among other things, participation, as specified, in the identification and periodic revision of state goals and priorities for higher education, reviewing and making recommendations regarding cross-segmental and interagency initiatives and programs, advising the Legislature and the Governor regarding the need for, and the location of, new institutions and campuses of public higher education, acting as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education information and as a primary source of information for the Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and reviewing all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education.

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The bill would authorize the office to require the governing boards and institutions of public postsecondary education to submit data to the office on plans and programs, costs, selection and retention of students, enrollments, plant capacities, and other matters pertinent to effective planning, policy development, and articulation and coordination. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

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The bill would require the office to report to the Legislature and the Governor on or before December 31 of each year regarding its progress in achieving specified objectives and responsibilities.

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The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2021.

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(2)  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 public segments of postsecondary education in this state.

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This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to create the Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability as the statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning entity.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert. State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

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begin insertArticle 2.6 (commencing with Section 66010.96)
2is added to Chapter 2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the end insert
begin insert3Education Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert

begin insert

4 

5Article begin insert2.6.end insert  Office of Higher Education Performance and
6Accountability
7

 

8

begin insert66010.96.end insert  

(a) The Office of Higher Education Performance
9and Accountability is hereby established as the statewide
10postsecondary education coordination and planning agency. The
11office is established in state government within the Governor’s
12office, and is under the direct control of an executive director.

13(b) The Governor shall appoint the Executive Director of the
14Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability, who
15shall perform all duties, exercise all powers, assume and discharge
16all responsibilities, and carry out and effect all purposes vested
17by law in the office, including contracting for professional or
18consulting services in connection with the work of the office. The
P4    1appointment of the executive director is subject to confirmation
2by the affirmative vote of a majority of the membership of the
3Senate. The executive director shall appoint persons to any staff
4positions the Governor may authorize.

5(c) The Governor may appoint the executive director at a salary
6that shall be fixed pursuant to Section 12001 of the Government
7Code.

8(d) (1) An advisory board is hereby established for the purpose
9of examining and making recommendations to the office regarding
10the functions and operations of the office and reviewing and
11commenting on any recommendations made by the office to the
12Governor and the Legislature.

13(2) The advisory board consists of the Chairperson of the Senate
14Committee on Education and the Chairperson of the Assembly
15Committee on Higher Education, who serve as ex officio members,
16and six public members with experience in postsecondary
17education, appointed to terms of four years as follows:

18(A) Three members of the advisory board appointed by the
19Senate Committee on Rules.

20(B) Three members of the advisory board appointed by the
21Speaker of the Assembly.

22(3) The office shall actively seek input from, and consult with,
23the advisory board regarding the functions, operations, and
24recommendations of the office, and provide the advisory board
25with sufficient time to review and comment.

26(4) Advisory board meetings are subject to the Bagley-Keene
27Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of
28Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
29Code). Advisory board materials shall be posted on the Internet.

30(5) The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly, and shall
31appoint one of its members to represent the board for purposes of
32communicating with the Legislature.

33(6) The advisory board is responsible for developing an
34independent annual report on the condition of higher education
35in California.

36(7) The advisory board is responsible for issuing an annual
37review of the performance of the Executive Director of the Office
38of Higher Education Performance and Accountability.

39(8) Members of the advisory board shall serve without
40compensation, but shall receive reimbursement for actual and
P5    1necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance
2of their duties as board members.

3(e) The office shall consult with the higher education segments
4and stakeholders, as appropriate, in the conduct of its duties and
5responsibilities. For purposes of this subdivision, “higher
6education segments” has the same meaning as in Section 66010.95,
7and “higher education stakeholders” includes, but is not
8necessarily limited to, postsecondary faculty and students, K-12
9representatives, and representatives of the business community.

10

begin insert66010.962.end insert  

The Office of Higher Education Performance and
11Accountability exists for the purpose of advising the Governor,
12the Legislature, and other appropriate governmental officials and
13institutions of postsecondary education. The office has the
14following functions and responsibilities in its capacity as the
15statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning
16agency and adviser to the Legislature and the Governor:

17(a) It shall, through its use of information and its analytic
18capacity, inform the identification and periodic revision of state
19goals and priorities for higher education in a manner that is
20consistent with the goals outlined in Section 66010.91 and takes
21into consideration the metrics outlined in Sections 89295 and
2292675. It shall, biennially, interpret and evaluate both statewide
23and institutional performance in relation to these goals and
24priorities.

25(b) It shall review and make recommendations, as necessary,
26regarding cross-segmental and interagency initiatives and
27programs in areas that may include, but are not necessarily limited
28to, efficiencies in instructional delivery, financial aid, transfer,
29and workforce coordination.

30(c) It shall advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding
31the need for, and the location of, new institutions and campuses
32of public higher education.

33(d) It shall review proposals by the public segments for new
34programs, the priorities that guide the public segments, and the
35degree of coordination between those segments and nearby public,
36independent, and private postsecondary educational institutions,
37and shall make recommendations regarding those proposals to
38the Legislature and the Governor.

39(e) (1) It shall act as a clearinghouse for postsecondary
40education information and as a primary source of information for
P6    1the Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies. It shall develop
2and maintain a comprehensive database that does all of the
3following:

4(A) Ensures comparability of data from diverse sources.

5(B) Supports longitudinal studies of individual students as they
6progress through the state’s postsecondary educational institutions
7through the use of a unique student identifier.

8(C) Maintains compatibility with California School Information
9Services and the student information systems developed and
10 maintained by the public segments of higher education, as
11appropriate.

12(D) Provides Internet access to data, as appropriate, to the
13segments of higher education.

14(E) Provides each of the educational segments access to the
15data made available to the office for purposes of the database, in
16order to support, most efficiently and effectively, statewide,
17segmental, and individual campus educational research
18information needs.

19(2) The office, in implementing paragraph (1), shall comply
20with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
211974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g) as it relates to the disclosure of
22personally identifiable information concerning students.

23(3) The office shall not make available any personally
24identifiable information received from a postsecondary educational
25institution concerning students for any regulatory purpose unless
26the institution has authorized the office to provide that information
27on behalf of the institution.

28(4) The office shall, following consultation with, and receipt of
29a recommendation from, the advisory board, provide 30-day
30notification to the chairpersons of the appropriate policy and
31budget committees of the Legislature, to the Director of Finance,
32and to the Governor before making any significant changes to the
33student information contained in the database.

34(f) It shall review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools
35for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary
36education, and shall make recommendations regarding those
37proposals to the Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of
38postsecondary education. In carrying out this subdivision, the
39office periodically shall conduct a study of the percentages of
40California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible
P7    1for admission to the University of California and the California
2State University.

3(g) It shall submit reports to the Legislature in compliance with
4Section 9795 of the Government Code.

5(h) It shall manage data systems and maintain programmatic,
6policy, and fiscal expertise to receive and aggregate information
7reported by the institutions of higher education in this state.

8

begin insert66010.964.end insert  

Notwithstanding any other law, the office may
9require the governing boards and the institutions of public
10postsecondary education to submit data to the office on plans and
11programs, costs, selection and retention of students, enrollments,
12plant capacities, and other matters pertinent to effective planning,
13policy development, and articulation and coordination. The office
14shall furnish information concerning these matters to the Governor
15and the Legislature as requested by them.

16

begin insert66010.967.end insert  

(a) On or before December 31 of each year, the
17office shall report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding
18its progress in achieving the objectives and responsibilities set
19forth in subdivision (a) of Section 66010.962.

20(b) On or before January 1, 2020, the Legislative Analyst’s
21Office shall review and report to the Legislature regarding the
22performance of the office in fulfilling its functions and
23responsibilities as outlined in Section 66010.962.

24

begin insert66010.969.end insert  

This article shall remain in effect only until
25January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later
26enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or
27extends that date.

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28begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

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If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
29this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
30local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
31pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
324 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

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33

SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
34legislation to create the Office of Higher Education Performance
35and Accountability as the statewide postsecondary education
36coordination and planning entity.

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