BILL NUMBER: SB 412 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senators Glazer and De León
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Baker and Levine )
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to add and repeal Part 40.2 (commencing with
Section 67430) to of Division 5 of Title
3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 412, as amended, Glazer. The California Promise.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under
the administration of the Trustees of the California State
University, and the California Community Colleges, under the
administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in
this state.
This bill would establish the California Promise, which would
require the trustees to establish a program that authorizes
a campus specified minimum numbers of campuses
of the California State University to establish a California
Promise program to enter into a pledge with a student who
satisfies specified criteria to support the student in obtaining a
baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years, or if the student is a
community college transfer student, student
who earned an associate degree for transfer, within
two 2 academic years, of the academic year of
the student's freshman admission, as defined. The
bill would require the trustees to submit a report to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature that includes
demographic information about students who participate in the program
and a summary description of significant differences in
implementation of the program by campus. The bill would require the
trustees to submit recommendations to the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature regarding potential financial
incentives that can benefit students who participate in the program.
The bill's provisions would be repealed as of January 1, 2024.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 40.2 (commencing with Section 67430) is added to
Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
PART 40.2. THE CALIFORNIA PROMISE
67430. This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Promise.
67431. For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Academic year of the student's freshman
admission" means the first full academic year in which a person is a
student at a campus of the California State
University.
(b) "Campus" means a campus within the California State University
system as set forth in Section 89001.
(c) "Transfer student" is a community college student who earned
an associate degree for transfer.
(b)
(d) "Trustees" means the Trustees of the California
State University.
67432. The California Promise is hereby established to support
students who enroll in the campuses of the California State
University in obtaining baccalaureate degrees within four academic
years, or within two academic years for community college
transfer students, years of the academic year of
the student's freshman admission. admission
or within two academic years of the student's admission to the campus
for transfer students.
67433. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) This part is needed to facilitate the availability and
completion of coursework for degree programs offered by campuses of
the California State University and to ensure that students enrolled
at these campuses are able to complete baccalaureate degree programs
within four academic years, or within two academic years for
community college transfer students, years of
the academic year of the student's freshman admission.
admission or within two academic years of the student'
s admission to the campus for transfer students.
(b) A more concerted, statewide effort to create pathways to
four-year graduation is needed at the California State University.
For the 2010 cohort of full-time, first-time students at the
California State University, 19 percent graduated within four
academic years. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the
most recent nationally comparable data shows that the California
State University's overall four-year graduation rate was 16 percent
in 2011, below the national rate of 26 percent among similar public
institutions.
(c) Impediments to graduating within four academic years include
the failure of students to complete sufficient units per academic
year and the lack of available high-demand courses.
(d) New approaches are critical for the future of higher education
in California. Efforts have been ongoing, though sporadic, to
improve postsecondary educational institution enrollment and
graduation. These efforts will need to be intensified and made more
broadly systemic.
(e) Students who graduate within four academic years save tens of
thousands of dollars. In addition to the direct costs of extended
college and university enrollment, students miss out on earnings in
the workforce while they remain in school.
(f) When California experiences a decline in college and
university graduates, the state's economy shrinks and employers seek
qualified candidates outside the state. Furthermore, a larger share
of the state's workforce is downgraded to lower-paying jobs and
consumer behavior and home ownership declines, which leads to
plummeting revenues for local and state government and to more people
relying on increasingly decimated government services.
(g) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, if
bold measures are not taken, California will fall short of the state'
s economic demand by 1.1 million college and university graduates by
2030. An increased demand for highly educated workers will outweigh
the number of qualified applicants for available jobs, which will be
exacerbated when scores of highly educated baby boomers retire. The
share of workers with a baccalaureate degree will be 33 percent in
2030, below the 38 percent that will be needed.
(h) The impact of graduation rates from California State
University campuses is felt not only throughout the state, but also
the nation. One out of every 10 California employees is a California
State University graduate, while one out of every 20 United States
citizens with a college or university degree graduates from a campus
of the California State University. These statistics emphasize the
national importance of graduation rates at California State
University campuses.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California
Promise will enable the California State University system to meet
and exceed the national average of similar public postsecondary
educational institutions as quickly as possible.
(j) The California Promise programs established at the California
State University in accordance with this part should aim to reflect
the demographics of their respective campuses and target a diverse
set of students.
67434. (a) The trustees shall develop and implement a California
Promise program that complies with this part at 10 or more
of their respective campuses. part.
(b) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, the trustees
a minimum of 10 campuses shall
authorize each campus with establish a
California Promise program pursuant to subdivision (a) to enter into
a pledge with a qualifying student of the campus, including
a community college transfer student, who is enrolled
at the campus and who is not a transfer student to support the
student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree within four academic
years, or if the student is a community college transfer
student, within two academic years, years of the
academic year of the student's freshman
admission.
(c) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, a minimum of 15
campuses shall establish a California Promise program pursuant to
subdivision (a) to enter into a pledge with a qualifying transfer
student to support the student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree
program within two academic years of the student's admission to the
campus, as applicable.
(d) Commencing with the 2018-19 fiscal year, a minimum of five
additional campuses for a total minimum of 20 campuses shall
establish a California Promise program pursuant to subdivision (a) to
enter into a pledge with a qualifying transfer student to support
the student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree program within two
academic years of the student's admission to the campus, as
applicable.
(c)
(e) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(d), (f), to be a qualifying student
or transfer student at the California State University,
the student must comply with both of the following:
(1) Be a California resident for purposes of in-state tuition
eligibility.
(2) Complete at least 30 semester units or the quarter equivalent
per academic year. Units completed by the student during a summer
term may count towards the previous or following academic year as
determined by the trustees.
(d)
(f) (1) Each program established by the trustees at a
California State University campus shall be reviewed by each
campus' a graduation initiative advisory
committee of that campus or a committee designated with
similar functions. The committee shall ensure the goals of the
program and implementation steps lead to increasing the campus'
four-year graduation rates for students who enrolled as first-time
freshman and two-year graduation rates for community college
transfer students. students, as
applicable.
(2) The committee at each campus may shall
develop additional eligibility requirements to prioritize
specific student populations that have lower four-year graduation
rates at the campus for those who enroll as first-time freshman and
lower two-year graduation rates for those who enroll as
community college transfer students, including, but not
limited to, all of the following student populations:
(A) Students who receive financial aid under the Federal Pell
Grant Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a) or the Cal Grant Program
established in Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part
42.
(B) Underrepresented students.
(C) First generation college students.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California
Promise program at each campus gradually scale up in order to
accommodate as many students into the program as feasible.
feasible and in consideration of available funding.
(e)
(g) Support provided by a California State University
campus to a student who participates in the campus' California
Promise program shall include, but not be limited to, both of the
following:
(1) (A) Priority registration in coursework.
For purposes of this paragraph, both of the following
shall apply:
(B) A student shall not receive priority registration in
coursework under the program if he or she qualifies for priority
registration under another policy or program, as determined by the
campus or the Office of the Chancellor of the California State
University.
(C) A student shall only receive priority registration in
coursework over other students within his or her cohort of students,
as determined by the campus or the Office of the Chancellor of the
California State University.
(2) Academic advisement that includes monitoring the student's
academic progress.
(f)
(h) (1) The trustees shall develop application
criteria, administrative guidelines, and additional requirements,
including how campuses will measure student success, for purposes of
implementing and administering the California Promise program.
(2) Requirements developed in accordance with paragraph (1) may
include a requirement that a student who participates in a California
Promise program maintain a minimum grade point average determined by
the student's campus.
(3) In developing requirements for the California Promise program,
the trustees shall take into consideration the report on graduation
rates required pursuant to Item 6610-001-0001 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2016.
(g)
(i) (1) The trustees shall submit a report to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by
January July 1, 2021, that includes all
of the following:
(A) The total number of students participating in the program
disaggregated by individual campus and all of the following:
(i) Community college transfer Transfer
students and students who enroll as first-time freshman.
(ii) First generation college students.
(iii) Recipients of financial aid under the Federal Pell Grant
Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a) or the Cal Grant Program established
in Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42.
(iv) Student ethnicity.
(B) The total number of students who graduated in four academic
years for students who enrolled as first-time freshman and two
academic years for community college transfer
students, disaggregated by individual campus and the characteristics
identified in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive, or subparagraph (A).
(2) The trustees shall submit a report to the appropriate policy
and fiscal committees of the Legislature by January
July 1, 2019, that includes the total number of
the first cohort of community college transfer
students participating in the program, disaggregated by individual
campus and the characteristics listed in clauses (ii) to (iv),
inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(3) The reports required in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall include a
summary description of significant differences regarding
implementation of the California Promise program by campus,
including, but not limited to, the prioritization of student
populations pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d)
(f) if applicable, the role of academic
advising, and the implementation of priority registration.
(h)
(j) The trustees shall submit recommendations to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by March
15, 2017, regarding potential financial incentives that can benefit
students who participate in the California Promise program,
including, but not limited to, incentives for qualifying students who
are unable to graduate within four or two academic years, as
applicable, due to a lack of course offerings.
(i)
(k) A student who successfully completes his or her
associate degree for transfer at a community college shall be
guaranteed participation in the California Promise program at the
California State University transfer campus, if established.
(j)
(l) The trustees shall make every effort to close the
achievement gap and encourage broad participation in a California
Promise program that reflects a participating campus' demographics.
67435. This part shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2024, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends
that date.