BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session AB 2364 (Holden) - Public postsecondary education: community colleges: exemption from nonresident tuition ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 7, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: This bill requires a community college district to exempt all special part-time students, as specified, from nonresident fees and allows these students to be reported as resident full-time equivalent students (FTES) to receive associated state apportionments. Fiscal Impact: The California Community Colleges (CCC) estimates the cost of allowing community colleges to claim apportionment for specified students is $2.6 million. This would constitute a cost pressure as CCC enrollment funding is capped each year. AB 2364 (Holden) Page 1 of ? The CCC estimates that 2,362 undocumented high school students living in California are enrolled in community college courses and took 6 units over the academic year. It is not anticipated that CCC will experience any revenue loss due to the nonresident fee exemption as these students are unlikely to have chosen to participate in concurrent enrollment at the CCC if they would have had to pay a nonresident tuition fee of $200 per unit. (Proposition 98) Background: Community college districts have several statutorily authorized means by which state apportionment can be claimed for minors enrolled by the district provided conditions are met for each respective program. This bill relates to three of these options: admitting special part-time students by a school principal recommendation, under a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership, or under the Long Beach Promise Program. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, upon recommendation of the principal of a student's school and with parental consent, to authorize a student to concurrently enroll in a community college to take one or more courses of instruction. A community college is required to be credited with the attendance of these students for state apportionments, only if those students are enrolled in community college classes that meet specified criteria, such as being open to the public. (Education Code § 48800, et seq.) (EC § 76002) The intent of the CCAP Act is 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. The CCAP program established various requirements relative to state allowances and apportionments. Among these, it requires the crediting of FTES for eligible high school students attributable to a 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, the community college is prohibited from receiving FTES if the school district has received reimbursement for the same instructional activity. AB 2364 (Holden) Page 2 of ? The Long Beach Promise Program was established in 2008, and sunsets June 30, 2017, as a collaborative partnership between the Long Beach Unified School District, the Long Beach City College, and the California State University at Long Beach with the general goals of increasing college preparation, college access, and ultimately college success. Long Beach Community College District is authorized to include these special part-time and special full-time students for purposes of receiving state apportionment (FTES) provided that no school district has received reimbursement for the same instructional activity. 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 FTES for state apportionment purposes except as specifically provided by statute in which case a nonresident tuition fee may not be charged. (EC § 76140) Current law does not cover special part-time students. This bill requires nonresident special part-time students to be exempt from nonresident fees and authorizes community colleges to report these students as resident FTES for state apportionment purposes. Proposed Law: This bill requires a community college district to exempt all special part-time students from nonresident fees (other than a nonimmigrant alien, as defined by federal law) and allows these students to be reported as resident FTES to receive associated state apportionments. With regard to waiving nonresident fees, this bill specifically makes reference to three options for admitting special part-time students: (1) by a school principal recommendation, (2) under a CCAP partnership, or (3) under the Long Beach Promise Program. AB 2364 (Holden) Page 3 of ? Related Legislation: In 2013, SB 150 (Lara, Chapter 575, Statutes of 2013) was enacted to authorize a CCC to exempt special part-time students from any nonresident tuition fees. Staff Comments: This bill pertains specifically to nonresident special part-time students, or undocumented high school students living in California, and how they generate funding at the CCC. Existing law provides the authority to exempt special part-time students from nonresident tuition fees and does not provide the authority to claim FTES. This bill would require the fee exemption and provide the authority to claim FTES for state apportionment purposes. -- END --