BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2908|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2908
Author: Committee on Higher Education
Amended: 4/11/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/8/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan,
Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: omnibus
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill corrects technical errors and oversights, and
makes non-controversial and conforming changes to various
provisions of the Education Code.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to report to
the Legislature on the expenditures of the University of
California (UC) and California State University (CSU).
(Education Code § 66028.6)
2)Requires the governing boards of each community college
district, the CSU Trustees, the Hastings College of Law Board
of Directors, the UC Regents, and the governing boards of any
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Page 2
postsecondary educational institution receiving public funds
for student financial assistance to make a report containing
data on hate crimes, as specified, available to the LAO. (EC §
67380)
3)Authorizes California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to require
school districts and charter schools to submit the grade point
averages (GPAs) of all grade 12 pupils every year, unless a
pupil and/or his or her parent or guardian has opted out of
the GPA submission to CSAC; and, specifies that school
districts and charter schools shall notify grade 12 pupils
and/or their parent or guardian if the pupil is under 18 years
of age, in writing, about the GPA submission to CSAC, no later
than October 15 every year. (EC § 69432.9)
4)Requires the LAO to report to the Legislature on the outcomes
of the Cal Grant C program on or before April 1, 2015, and on
or before April 1 of each odd numbered year thereafter. (EC §
69439)
5)Requires the LAO to report to the Legislature on the status
update of CSU's online education programs, as specified, on or
before October 1, 2017. (EC § 89226)
This bill:
1)Extends the due date for the LAO to report on CSU's online
courses, as specified, from October 1, 2017 to October 1,
2018.
2)Reassigns, from the LAO to the UC Regents and CSU Trustees the
reporting requirement to the Legislature on UC and CSU
expenditures.
3)Removes the requirement for postsecondary institutions to
submit hate violence reports to the LAO; and, specifies that
the postsecondary institutions shall still complete reports
and post their findings publicly on their respective Internet
Web sites.
4)Authorizes the CSAC to require a GPA submission no later than
October 1 of each academic year.
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Page 3
5)Specifies that the GPAs for grade 12 students are to be
submitted by October 1, of each academic year.
6)Moves the date for which a school district or charter school
is required to submit GPA.
7)Changes the date from October 15 to January 1 for when schools
are required to notify parents that his or her student will be
deemed a Cal Grant applicant and GPA submitted to CSAC, unless
the student opts out. Further requires that parents be
notified when students are in grade 11, instead of grade 12.
8)Extends the due date for the LAO to report on Cal Grant C from
April 1, 2015 to April 1, 2018 and requires CSAC, instead of
the LAO, to submit the report with more limited information on
or before April 1, 2020 and each even-numbered year
thereafter.
9)Makes clarifying and technical changes to an incorrect cross
reference in the Education Code.
Comments
1)Non-controversial amendments. This bill is the annual higher
education omnibus clean-up bill and proposes technical,
non-controversial amendments to existing law.
By tradition, if any affected agency, the Department of
Finance, or any of the four legislative caucuses objects to a
provision in the bill or one that is being considered, that
particular provision cannot be included.
2)Conforming to new Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) timeline. On September 14, 2015, President Obama
announced significant changes to the FAFSA. Starting this
year, the FAFSA will be available to students on October 1,
2016, rather than on January 1, 2017. The earlier submission
date will be a permanent change, enabling students to complete
and submit a FAFSA on October 1 every year. This bill
authorizes CSAC to adjust the GPA submission date thereby
conforming to the new FAFSA release date.
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3)Workload demands on the LAO. AB 770 (Vasconcellos, Chapter
1187, Statutes of 1973) created the California Postsecondary
Education Commission (CPEC) and made it responsible for the
planning and coordination of postsecondary education. CPEC
was charged with providing analysis, advice, and
recommendations to the Legislature and the governor on
statewide policy and funding priorities. Governor Brown used
his line item veto power to defunded CPEC as part of his
2011-2012 budget. On November 18, 2011, CPEC closed its
office and ceased operations.
In the absence of CPEC, the state has asked the LAO to conduct
many of the duties CPEC would traditionally perform, including
researching, writing, reviewing new programs and issuing
reports. Staff notes that the LAO has reached its capacity
with the volume of reports and studies assigned to the Office
on an annual basis. This bill seeks to extend deadlines and
make adjustments to specified reports thereby allowing more
time for completion and alleviating workload.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/21/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/21/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
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Page 5
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by:Olgalilia Ramirez / ED. / (916) 651-4105
6/22/16 15:15:08
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