BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 42
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
SB
42 (Liu) - As Amended July 1, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 38-1
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: California Commission on
Higher Education Performance and Accountability.
SUMMARY: Establishes the Office of Higher Education Performance
and Accountability (OHEPA) to provide statewide postsecondary
education planning and coordination. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes OHEPA as the statewide postsecondary education
coordination and planning entity within the Governor's office
and under the direct control of an Executive Director
SB 42
Page 2
(Director) appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate
confirmation.
2)Provides that the Director is responsible for all duties,
powers, and responsibilities vested in OHEPA, including
contracting for relevant professional or consultant services.
The Director is required to appoint any staff positions
authorized by the Governor.
3)Establishes an Advisory Board to OHEPA for the purpose of
reviewing and commenting on any recommendations made by OHEPA
to the Governor and the Legislature. Establishes the Advisory
Board membership as follows:
a) Three members with experience in postsecondary education
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and,
b) Three members with experience in postsecondary education
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
4)Authorizes OHEPA to consult with the higher education
segments, as appropriate, in the conduct of its duties and
responsibilities.
5)Establishes OHEPA for the purpose of advising the Governor,
SB 42
Page 3
the Legislature and other appropriate government officials and
institutions of postsecondary education, and specifically
requires OHEPA to conduct all of the following:
a) Articulate and monitor state performance objectives for
higher education;
b) Advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the
need for, and location of, new institutions and campuses of
public higher education;
c) Review proposals by the public segments for new
programs, the priorities that guide them, and the degree of
coordination with nearby public, independent, and private
postsecondary educational institutions, and make
recommendations regarding those proposals to the
Legislature and the Governor;
d) Act as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education
information and as a primary source of information for the
Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and develop
and maintain a comprehensive database, that does all of the
following:
i) Ensures comparability of data from diverse sources;
SB 42
Page 4
ii) Supports longitudinal studies of individual students
as they progress through the state's postsecondary
educational institutions through the use of a unique
student identifier;
iii) Is compatible with California School Information
Services and the student information systems developed
and maintained by the public segments of higher
education, as appropriate;
iv) Provides Internet access to data, as appropriate, to
the sectors of higher education; and,
v) Provides each of the educational segments access to
the data made available to the commission for purposes of
the database, in order to support, most efficiently and
effectively, statewide, segmental, and individual campus
educational research information needs;
e) Provides that, in implementing the data requirements of
this bill, OHEPA shall comply with the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec.
1232g) relating to the disclosure of personally
identifiable information concerning students, and prohibits
OHEPA from making available any personally identifiable
information received from a postsecondary educational
institution concerning students for any regulatory purpose
unless the institution has authorized the provision of that
SB 42
Page 5
information. Requires OHEPA to provide a 30-day
notification to the chairpersons of legislative policy and
budget committees, the Director of Finance, and to the
Governor before making any significant changes to the
student information contained in the database;
f) Review proposals for changes in eligibility pools for
admission to public institutions and segments of
postsecondary education, and make recommendations to the
Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of
postsecondary education. Provides that OHEPA shall
periodically study the percentages of California public
high school graduates estimated to be eligible for
admission to the California State University (CSU) and the
University of California (UC);
g) Through its use of information and its analytic
capacity, inform the identification and periodic revision
of state goals and priorities for higher education in a
manner that is consistent with the goals outlined in
Education Code (EDC) Section 66010.91 and the metrics
outlined in EDC Sections 89295 and 92675. Requires OHEPA
to biennially interpret and evaluate both statewide and
institutional performance in relation to these goals and
priorities;
h) Submit reports to the Legislature, as specified; and,
i) Manage data systems and maintain programmatic, policy,
SB 42
Page 6
and fiscal expertise to receive and aggregate information
reported by the institutions of higher education in this
state.
6)Provides that on or before December 31 of each year, OHEPA
shall report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding its
progress in achieving the aforementioned objectives and
responsibilities.
EXISTING LAW establishes the California Postsecondary Education
Commission (CPEC) composed of 17 members representing the higher
education segments, the State Board of Education, and nine
representatives appointed by the Governor, Senate Rules
Committee, and Assembly Speaker to coordinate public,
independent, and private postsecondary education in California.
(Education Code Section 66900 et. seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been substantially
amended since it was heard in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
COMMENTS: Background on CPEC. As previously outlined, CPEC was
established to coordinate postsecondary education in California
and to provide independent policy analyses and recommendations
to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education
SB 42
Page 7
issues. However, CPEC's budget and responsibilities were
reduced over time, casting doubt on its effectiveness and
triggering calls for its restructuring. In the 2011-12 Budget
Act, Governor Brown vetoed funding for CPEC citing the agency's
ineffectiveness in higher education oversight. In his veto
message, the Governor acknowledged the well-established need for
coordinating and guiding state higher education policy and
requested that stakeholders explore alternative ways these
functions could be fulfilled. CPEC shut down in fall 2011,
transferring its federal Teacher Quality Improvement grant
program to the California Department of Education (CDE) and
extensive data resources to the California Community Colleges
(CCC) Chancellor's Office. There is currently no coordinating
entity for higher education in California.
Establishing goals and accountability in the absence of CPEC.
The National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education,
in a report published in 2005, concluded that "real improvement
in higher education will come when accountability in higher
education provides for explicit shared goals, progress in
achieving these goals is measured, and work to improve
performance is motivated and guided." Statewide higher
education goals and objectives have been considered by the
Legislature for over a decade; in recent years, despite the
absence of CPEC, some progress has been made on this front.
The 2013-14 Budget Act education trailer bill (AB 94, Chapter
50) required CSU and UC to report annually on specified
performance measures, in order to inform budget and policy
SB 42
Page 8
decisions and promote effective and efficient use of resources.
SB 195 (Liu), Chapter 367, Statutes of 2013, established general
statewide goals for higher education, and Legislative intent to
identify specific metrics for measuring progress toward
statewide goals. The 2014-15 Budget Act (SB 852, Chapter 25)
required UC and CSU to approve three-year "sustainability plans"
that use funding projections to establish projections of
enrollment and the university's goals for the performance
measures that are required to be adopted pursuant to AB 94; this
requirement was continued in the 2015-16 Budget Act. CCCs were
required, pursuant to the 2014-15 Budget higher education
trailer bill (SB 860, Chapter 34), to adopt goals and targets
for student performance by June 30, 2015, and to establish and
report on Student Equity Plans designed to ensure equal
educational opportunities and to promote student success for all
students.
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, this bill
represents the next necessary step towards a higher education
performance and accountability structure by creating the OHEPA
to serve as the statewide postsecondary coordination and
planning agency to steward the public higher education agenda.
According to the author, there is no specific statewide entity
charged with leading the conversation around the state's higher
education goals and the performance and accountability of the
public higher education segments. According to the author, in
order for the state to improve student access and success, and
to align degrees and credentials with workforce needs, an
integrated and data-driven coordination structure is necessary.
SB 42
Page 9
Recommendations to reestablish coordination. A number of
reports have been issued in recent years that recommend various
approaches to reestablishing higher education oversight and
coordination in California. In 2012, the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) recommended, in Improving Higher Education
Oversight, the Legislature establish an oversight body and
increase the body's independence from the public higher
education segments, assign the body with limited and clear
responsibilities, and develop a more unified governing board
appointment process. In 2014, California Competes, in
Chartering a Course for California's Colleges: State Leadership
in Higher Education, also highlighted the importance of
impartiality and independence from the higher education
segments. The Institute for Higher Education Leadership and
Policy, in March of 2014, issued A New Vision for California
Higher Education: A Model Public Agenda, which noted that policy
leadership could be best filled by regional consortia that set
goals and targets working in coordination with an executive
branch entity (such as a Higher Education Office) that reported
to the Governor with respect to finance and accountability.
Legislative involvement and accountability. OHEPA, as proposed
by this bill, would be an office of the Governor. Legislative
accountability and involvement is primarily through the Advisory
Board and the Senate confirmation of the Executive Director. To
strengthen Legislative involvement and accountability, the
author and Committee may wish to consider:
SB 42
Page 10
1)Clarify Advisory Board Role. As currently drafted, the role
of the Advisory Board is unclear; Committee staff recommends
the bill be amended to clarify that OHEPA shall routinely
consult with the Advisory Board in performing its assigned
duties and shall provide the Advisory Board adequate time to
review and comment on reports and recommendations. Committee
staff also recommends establishing terms for Advisory Board
members of four-years (consistent with the terms of the
Student Aid Commission members).
2)Clarify role of Segments and Stakeholders. As currently
drafted, this bill authorizes but does not require
consultation with the higher education segments. Further,
this bill does not address consultation with important higher
education stakeholders including faculty, K-12, employers, and
students. Committee staff recommends the bill be amended to
require OHEPA consult with higher education segments and
stakeholders.
3)OHEPA authority and segmental accountability. As currently
drafted, the role of OHEPA in ensuring accountability of
postsecondary education segments is unclear. Committee staff
understands it is the intent of the Author that this area of
OHEPA responsibility be outlined and expanded in subsequent
years. Committee staff recommends at minimum authorizing
OHEPA to require the governing boards and institutions of
postsecondary education to submit data to OHEPA upon request.
4)Review of OHEPA Performance. This bill requires OHEPA to
report annually to the Legislature regarding progress toward
achieving outlined objectives, but does not include a clear
SB 42
Page 11
opportunity for the Legislature to independently review
OHEPA's performance. Committee staff recommends amending this
bill to require the LAO to review the performance of OHEPA by
January 1, 2020 and to sunset OHEPA on January 1, 2021.
Outlining the Scope of the Eligibility Study. The 1960 Master
Plan established goals that allowed for the top 12.5% of high
school graduates to be admitted to a UC campus and the top 33.3%
of high school graduates to be admitted to a CSU campus. These
eligibility goals were a consistent factor in determining
funding for the university segments. Prior to 2011, CPEC
administered numerous studies to determine whether UC and CSU
were meeting eligibility requirements established by the Master
Plan. In February 2014, the LAO recommended the Legislature
authorize an updated freshman eligibility study. The 2015-16
Budget Act provided funding to perform an eligibility study,
noting that subsequent legislation would direct the scope and
methodology of the study. This bill provides OHEPA with
responsibility to study UC and CSU eligibility pools and
admission practices. Committee staff recommends amending this
bill to require OHEPA to conduct the freshman eligibility study
that was funded in the 2015-16 Budget Act, and to outline the
scope and methodology of the study.
Clarifying and technical changes. Committee staff recommends
several clarifying and technical changes consistent with the
Author's intent, including adding definitions for terms used in
the bill and consolidating and clarifying the language
surrounding the responsibilities of OHEPA.
SB 42
Page 12
Prior legislation. Several bills have been introduced in an
effort to improve higher education performance and
accountability, and to re-establish CPEC's most important
functions. These include the following:
SB 1196 (Liu, 2014) would have established a process for setting
specific educational attainment goals for the State. SB 1196
was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 1348 (John A. Pérez, 2014) would have established the
California Higher Education Authority, its governing board and
its responsibilities, as specified, phased-in over a three-year
period. AB 1348 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2190 (John A. Pérez, 2012) would have established a new state
oversight and coordinating body for higher education. AB 2190
was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 721 (Lowenthal, 2012) would have established statewide goals
for guiding budget and policy decisions. SB 721 was ultimately
vetoed.
SB 1138 (Liu, 2011-12) would have established a central data
management system for the higher education segments. SB 1138
was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2 (Portantino, 2011) and AB 218 (Portantino, 2009)
essentially identical bills, required that the state to
establish an accountability framework to biennially assess and
report on the collective progress of the state's system of
postsecondary education in meeting specified educational and
economic goals. Both bills were heard and passed by this
Committee and were subsequently held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
SB 42
Page 13
Support
None on File (As of July 1, 2015 Version)
Opposition
None on File (As of July 1, 2015 Version)
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
SB 42
Page 14