BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                              Senator Carol Liu, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:             AB 2364             
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          |Author:    |Holden                                               |
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          |Version:   |April 7, 2016                               Hearing  |
          |           |Date:   June 29, 2016                                |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|Kathleen Chavira                                     |
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          Subject:  Public postsecondary education:  community colleges:   
          exemption from nonresident tuition


            SUMMARY
          
          This bill deletes the requirement that a community college  
          district participating in a College and Career Access Pathways  
          (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district  
          waive the nonresident tuition fee for special part-time  
          students, deletes the authority of a community college governing  
          board to waive nonresident fees for special part-time students  
          and instead requires that a community college district exempt  
          any special part-time student admitted, as specified, from  
          nonresident fees. 

            BACKGROUND
          
          Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school  
          district, upon recommendation of the principal of a pupil's  
          school and with parental consent, to authorize a student to  
          concurrently enroll in a community college during any session or  
          term to undertake one or more courses of instruction.  Existing  
          law prohibits a principal from recommending, more than 5% of the  
          total number of students in the same grade level for community  
          college summer session attendance. A community college district  
          governing board is authorized to admit these students and  
          requires that they be assigned a low enrollment priority in  
          order to ensure that they do not displace regularly admitted  
          community college students.  An exemption to this requirement is  







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          extended to Middle College High School (MCHS) students.   
          (Education Code § 48800, et seq.)  (EC § 76001) 

          Existing law requires a community college to charge a tuition  
          fee to nonresident students and also authorizes a community  
          college district to exempt a special admit student from all or  
          part of a nonresident student tuition fee.  A district is  
          prohibited from reporting nonresident students as full-time  
          equivalent students (FTES) for state apportionment purposes  
          except as provided by statute in which case a nonresident  
          tuition fee may not be charged.  (EC § 76140)

          Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community  
          college district to enter into a College and Career Access  
          Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school  
          district for the purpose of offering or expanding dual  
          enrollment opportunities for students who may not already be  
          college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education,  
          with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school  
          to community college for career technical education or  
          preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation  
          rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career  
          readiness. Districts that participate in the program are  
          required to exempt participating special part-time students from  
          various fee requirements including student representation fees,  
          nonresident fees, enrollment fees, apprenticeship course fees,  
          and child development center fees. (EC § 76004)

          Existing law also establishes the College Promise Partnership  
          Act until June 30, 2017, and provides for the crediting of  
          additional units of full-time equivalent students (FTES)  
          attributable to the attendance of partnership students at the  
          community college, as specified. These special part-time and  
          special full-time students may be admitted in any session or  
          term of the partnership and the Long Beach Community College  
          District is authorized to include these students for purposes of  
          receiving state apportionment (FTES) provided that no school  
          district has received reimbursement for the same instructional  
          activity.  An evaluation of the program is due to the  
          Legislature, by December 30, 2016.  These provisions are sunset  
          in June 2017.  
          (EC § 48810 - 48814, § 76003)
            
          ANALYSIS








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          This bill:

          1)   Deletes the requirement that a community college district  
               participating in a College and Career Access Pathways  
               (CCAP) partnership waive the nonresident tuition fee for  
               special part-time students that enroll at a community  
               college as part of their participation in a CCAP  
               partnership agreement.

          2)   Deletes the authority of a California Community College  
               (CCC) district to waive nonresident fees for special  
               part-time students.

          3)   Requires that a CCC district to waive nonresident fees for  
               all special part time students (other than a nonimmigrant  
               student, as defined by specified federal law).

          STAFF COMMENTS
          
          1)   Need for the bill.  According to the author, this bill was  
               prompted by the efforts of the Compton Unified School  
               District to enter into a partnership agreement with the El  
               Camino College Compton Center under the newly established  
               dual enrollment option implemented by AB 288 (Holden,  
               Chapter 618, Statutes of 2015), the College and Career  
               Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership.  Current law  
               specifically requires the waiver of nonresident fees for  
               part-time special students as a condition of the CCAP  
               partnerships.  However, according to the Chancellor's  
               Office, these provisions do not provide explicit authority  
               for the CCC to claim FTES for these students. ReportedIy,  
               an element of the proposed agreement in Compton was that  
               the school district agrees to pay the average daily  
               attendance it receives for these students to the community  
               college. While this appears to be a provision in other  
               similar partnership agreements (the Long Beach Promise  
               program, for example), the large number of nonresident  
               students within the Compton School District appears to  
               create a barrier to a partnership agreement that is  
               fiscally viable for the partnering districts, jeopardizing  
               the ability of this student community to benefit from the  
               new CCAP provisions. 









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               This bill responds to this situation by requiring the  
               waiver of nonresident fees of any nonresident special  
               part-time student that enrolls at any community college.

          2)   Current policy.  In 2013, SB 150 (Lara, Chapter 575,  
               Statutes of 2013) was enacted to authorize a California  
               Community College (CCC) to exempt special part-time  
               students from any nonresident tuition fees.  The bill was  
               enacted in response to varying district interpretations of  
               their authority to serve California high school students  
               who are nonresidents in concurrent enrollment programs.   
               Some districts had been advised by their legal counsel that  
               because current law allows a district to waive fees for  
               special part-time students that they may also waive  
               nonresident fees, while others had been advised that they  
               have no authority to waive a nonresident fee for special  
               part-time students. Still other districts had made the  
               decision not to waive any fees for special part-time  
               students, given the economic climate and severe budget cuts  
               at the time.  SB 150 clarified that CCC districts have the  
               authority to waive these fees if they so choose. 

               In February 2014, the Chancellor's Office issued guidance  
               on the implementation of these provisions.  The guidance  
               clarifies that CCC districts are permitted to exempt  
               nonresident special part-time students from nonresident  
               tuition, the exemption does not apply to special full-time  
               students, and the exemption is not intended to apply to  
               students who would be precluded from qualifying for the AB  
               540 exemption (distance education enrollees or students on  
               nonimmigrant visas).  In addition the exemption does not  
               authorize districts to claim apportionment for these  
               students.   

               The Chancellor's Office reports that the authorization  
               granted by SB 150 and their statutory guidance appear to  
               have addressed this issue and that districts are generally  
               waiving these fees for nonresident special part-time  
               students.  The outstanding issue appears to be districts'  
               ability to claim FTES for these students, not whether these  
               fees are being waived.  

               Staff recommends the bill be amended to delete sections 2  
               and 3 from the bill. 








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          3)   College and Career Access Pathways Act.  Community college  
               districts have several statutorily authorized means by  
               which apportionment can be claimed for minors enrolled by  
               the district. However, a variety of conditions must be met  
               by CCC districts that admit special part-time students  
               either through principal recommendation or via Early  
               College and Middle College high school programs. 

               In an effort to expand the availability of dual enrollment  
               programs to a broader range of students, AB 288 (Holden,  
               Chapter 618, Statutes of 2015) created another category of  
               special admit options, the College and Career Access  
               Pathways Act.  The intent of this new pathway was to serve  
               lower achieving students in an effort to reduce  
               remediation, increase degree completion, decrease time to  
               degree, and stimulate interest in higher education among  
               high school students for students who may not already be  
               college bound or who are underrepresented in higher  
               education. According to the sponsors of AB 288, the program  
               was structured to authorize a model more like the Long  
               Beach Promise that offers dual enrollment as a pathway,  
               rather than a series of disconnected individual courses,  
               and provide greater flexibility in the delivery of courses  
               at the high school campus.  Unlike other concurrent  
               enrollment options, AB 288 authorized community colleges to  
               offer courses that are closed to the general public if  
               offered on a high school campus, to grant special admit  
               students higher enrollment priority than currently  
               possible, and to exceed the current 11 unit cap per  
               semester if the student is receiving both a high school  
               diploma and an associate's degree. In exchange for the  
               greater flexibility, College and Career Access Pathways  
               (CCAP) program districts must meet a variety of  
               requirements relative to instructors, job displacement,  
               preserving access for adult students, and allowances and  
               apportionments. 

               While districts that operate a dual enrollment partnership  
               through an early college high school, middle college high  
               school, or a California Career Pathways Trust may continue  
               to operate as they have previously, they are prohibited  
               from operating as a CCAP partnership unless they comply  
               with the provisions established by AB 288.








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          4)   ADA/ FTES within the CCAP program.  The CCAP program  
               established various requirements relative to state  
               allowances and apportionments.  Among these, it required  
               the crediting of full-time equivalent students (FTES) for  
               eligible high school students attributable to a California  
               Community College (CCC) district conducting a closed course  
               on a high school campus.  It also authorized the crediting  
               of FTES for high school students attending courses at the  
               CCC.  In both instances, however, districts are prohibited  
               from receiving FTES or average daily attendance for the  
               same instructional activity.  This was, in part, to limit  
               "double-dipping", i.e. paying both the community colleges  
               and the K-12 districts for educating the same high school  
               student, an ongoing concern regarding dual enrollment  
               programs generally. 

               In order to ensure that CCAP programs would serve a broad  
               range of students, AB 288 required that a participating CCC  
               district exempt special part-time students from the  
               nonresident fee.  However, the statute does not explicitly  
               authorize the CCC district to report these students for  
               state apportionment. As a result, it appears that, for a  
               few CCC districts that want to partner with K-12 districts  
               with large numbers of nonresident students, it may be  
               economically unfeasible to do so. 

               However, should this issue be addressed by endorsing a  
               policy that could expand the potential for "double  
               dipping"? 

               Staff recommends the bill be amended to reinstate the  
               requirement that the nonresident tuition/fees be waived for  
               a special part student participating in a CCAP program, and  
               clarify that, subject to the conditions outlined in  
               76004(r) and (s), a nonresident special admit student  
               participating in a CCAP program may be reported as FTES for  
               state apportionment purposes.  

          5)   Long Beach Promise Program.  The Long Beach Promise Program  
               was established in 2008 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  








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               increasing college preparation, college access, and  
               ultimately college success. In 2011, SB 650 (Lowenthal,  
               Chapter 633, Statutes of 2011) statutorily authorized the  
               partnership and granted greater flexibility in the  
               program's implementation than normally allowed for dual  
               enrollment programs as well as authorizing the crediting of  
               FTES for these students.  The statutory authority for this  
               partnership sunsets on January 1, 2018.  As previously  
               noted, the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP)  
               program was based upon the Long Beach Promise Program. 

          Reportedly, the partnership agreement between the K-12 and  
          community college district ensures access for all students of  
          the K-12 district that choose to participate.   In addition,  
          given that the elements of the CCAP were based upon the Long  
          Beach Promise Program, it is unclear whether any specific  
          statute is necessary as it appears that the Promise Program  
          could continue to operate as a CCAP program once its statutory  
          authorization sunsets, if it so chooses. 
          
               lt does not appear that the application of this bill's  
               provisions to the Long Beach Promise program are necessary.  


            SUPPORT
          
          Adelante Youth Alliance
          Association of California Community College Administrators
          California Coalition of Early and Middle Colleges
          California Immigrant Policy Center
          California State Conference of the National Association for the  
          Advancement of Colored People
          Chaffey Community College District
          Children's Defense Fud - CA
          Compton Community College District
          Compton Unified School District
          Compton Unified School District
          Dream Outreach Center, CSU Fresno
          El Camino Community College District
          Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District
          Foothill-DeAnza Community College District
          Gateway to College, Contra Costa College
          High School at Moorpark College
          Los Angeles Community College District








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          Los Rios Community College District
          MALDEF
          Middle College High School at San Bernardino Valley College
          North Orange County Community College District
          Peralta Community College District
          Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
          San Diego Community College District
          San Francisco Community College District
          San Jose Evergreen Community College District
          West Sacramento Early College Prep
          Yuba Community College District

            OPPOSITION
           
           None received.

                                      -- END --