BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          SB 247 (Lara) - Dream Centers: educational support services.
          
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          |Version: April 7, 2015          |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: May 11, 2015      |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill authorizes the establishment of undocumented  
          student support services and on-campus Dream Centers at school  
          districts, county offices of education, and public postsecondary  
          institutions.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           Cost pressure: Potentially significant cost pressure in the  
            tens of millions for school districts, county offices of  
            education, California Community Colleges (CCC), and the  
            California State University (CSU) to fund these services.   
            (see staff comments)


          Background: AB 540 (Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001) authorizes certain  
          undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at the CCC, the  
          CSU, and the University of California (UC).  








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          Existing law provides that AB 540 students are eligible to apply  
          for, and participate in; any student financial aid program  
          administered by the State of California to the full extent  
          permitted by federal law and requires the California Student Aid  
          Commission (CSAC) to establish procedures and forms for this  
          purpose.  To comply with this provision the CSAC developed the  
          Dream Application.  (Education Code 69508.5)


          Proposed Law:  
           This bill authorizes each governing board of each school  
          district or county office of education that maintains any grades  
          9 through 12, the governing board of each community college  
          district, and the Trustees of the California State University to  
          establish, and the Regents of the University of California are  
          encouraged to establish, undocumented student support services  
          to include, but not be limited to, state and institutional  
          financial assistance, academic counseling, referral services,  
          and on-campus Dream Centers.


          Related  
     Legislation:1. AB 1366 (Lopez, 2015) requires the CCC and the CSU, and requests  
          the UC, to establish on-campus Dream resource centers.  This  
          bill is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.


          Staff  
          Comments:  This bill creates a potentially significant cost  
          pressure for school districts, county offices of education, CCC,  
          and the CSU to fund these services. 

          For illustrative purposes, if school districts serving grades 9  
          through 12 (418) and CCC districts (72) hired at least one  
          position at a rate of $100,000, including benefits, to provide  
          the services encouraged in the bill, it would result in costs in  
          the tens of millions Proposition 98 General Fund.  
          The CSU estimates that this bill will result a cost pressure for  
          the 19 remaining campuses that have not already established a  
          Dream Center ranging from $2.2 million to $4.8 million in the  
          first year and ongoing costs of $1.3 million to $1.9 million  
          General Fund.  

          The UC indicates that this bill does not result in any  








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          additional costs as the university already provides services  
          included in this bill.

          To the extent the Dream Centers and related services are offered  
          to students and contribute to better student outcomes, such as  
          reducing the time it takes for a student to earn a degree,  
          colleges and universities could achieve efficiencies by  
          potentially providing broader access to other students.


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