BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2681
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2681
(O'Donnell) - As Amended March 18, 2016
[This bill is double referred to the Assembly Committee on
Higher Education and will be heard by that committee as it
relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: Public education: California College Promise Grant
Program
SUMMARY: Establishes the California College Promise Grant
Program to provide planning grants to school and community
college districts to establish College and Career Access
Pathways (CCAP) partnerships. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the California College Promise Grant Program to
provide planning grants to school districts and community
college districts to establish a College and Career Access
Pathways (CCAP) partnership.
2)Provides that a grant may be awarded under this section to a
school district and community college district that have:
a) Presented the CCAP partnership at a meeting of each
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board as information and approved the partnership at a
subsequent meeting of each board.
b) Certified their intent to establish a CCAP partnership
no later than the fiscal year following the fiscal year in
which the grant is received.
3)Requires the grant program to be administered by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and the Chancellor
of the California Community Colleges.
4)Requires the SPI and Chancellor to establish a grant
application process and criteria for determining the amount of
each grant.
5)Provides that the maximum grant shall be $25,000.
6)Provides that the grants awarded may be used to:
a) Establish protocols for information sharing, in
compliance with all applicable state and federal privacy
laws, joint facilities use, and parental consent for high
school pupils to enroll in community college courses
b) Establish the terms of the CCAP partnership, including,
but not necessarily limited to, the total number of high
school students to be served and the total number of
full-time equivalent students projected to be claimed by
the community college district for those students;
c) Plan the scope, nature, time, location, and listing of
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community college courses to be offered;
d) Develop criteria to assess the ability of pupils to
benefit from those courses; and
e) Inform parents and students about opportunities that are
available through the CCAP partnership.
7)Establishes a sunset date of January 1, 2022.
8)Appropriates $1 million from the General Fund for the grant
program.
9)Specifies that the funds appropriated for the grant program
are Proposition 98.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the CCAP partnership 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriates $1 million from the General Fund
(Proposition 98)
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COMMENTS: The CCAP partnership was established by AB 288
(Holden, Chapter 618, Statutes of 2015), which passed both
houses of the Legislature with unanimous votes. By expanding
dual enrollment opportunities, the partnerships are intended to
increase the college-going rates among students who are
historically underrepresented in higher education. Prior to
entering into a partnership, a school and community college
district must each present the partnership as an information
item at a board meeting and approve the partnership at a
subsequent meeting. In addition, existing law requires the
partnership districts to do the following:
Establish protocols for information sharing, in
compliance with all applicable state and federal privacy
laws, joint facilities use, and parental consent for high
school pupils to enroll in community college courses
Establish the terms of the CCAP partnership, including,
but not necessarily limited to, the total number of high
school students to be served and the total number of
full-time equivalent students projected to be claimed by
the community college district for those students;
Plan the scope, nature, time, location, and listing of
community college courses to be offered; and
Develop criteria to assess the ability of pupils to
benefit from those courses.
Benefits of concurrent enrollment. Concurrent enrollment
provides high school students the opportunity to take
college-credit bearing courses while still in high school. Some
students are able to earn up to a full year of college credit at
the time they graduate from high school. This increases the
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rate at which high school graduates go on to colleges or
universities and increases college completion. Research cited
by the National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships
includes the following findings:
Students entering four Texas public universities were
42% more likely to earn a degree in four years than their
counterparts.
Concurrent enrollment students in Colorado were 23% more
likely to enroll in college immediately after high school
and 9% less likely to enroll in remedial classes.
Concurrent enrollment students in Oregon have a higher
college participation rate than high school graduates
overall and continue to the second year at a higher rate
than other freshmen.
The purpose of this bill is to establish an incentive for
districts to enter into CCAP partnerships by providing grants
that may be used to offset the costs of these activities. In
addition, the bill permits the grants to be used to inform
parents and students about opportunities that are available
through the CCAP partnership.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None received
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Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by:Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087