BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 1050 (De León) - Postsecondary education: college readiness ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: May 10, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: This bill: (1) establishes the K-12 College Readiness Block Grant, contingent upon funding provided by statute or the annual budget act, to provide one-time funding to K-12 districts to prepare high school pupils for admission to college; (2) requires, as a condition of annual budget act funding, as specified, that the University of California (UC) develop and implement a plan and timeline for increasing the enrollment of resident students, especially those from high schools which have 75 percent or greater enrollment of students that are English learners, low-income, or foster youth; and (3) requests that the UC establish a California subject matter project to provide appropriate school personnel with strategies for improving college readiness, as specified. Fiscal Impact: Block Grant: Funding will ultimately depend upon the SB 1050 (De León) Page 1 of ? availability of one-time funding available for this purpose. Anticipated costs in the low hundreds of millions spent over three years. (Proposition 98) UC: The actual costs of the UC-related requirements in this bill will depend upon the amount of enrollment funding that would be provided in the annual budget act. The requirement for each campus to increase enrollment, and significantly increase LCFF Plus students, over 2015-16 levels could cost $50 million according to the UC, assuming an additional 5,000 students over two years at a rate of $10,000. In addition, UC cites costs of about $1 million for new counselors related to the bill's required expansion of targeted support and retention services for unduplicated students. Costs related to carry out the subject matter project requirements are estimated to be $7 million. (General Fund) CDE: Anticipated costs of up to $157,000 over two years for staff to implement the requirements of this bill and apportion block grant funds. (General Fund) Sunset removal: $8.4 million cost pressure to continue funding existing California Subject Matter Projects ($5 million General Fund; $3.4 million Federal funds as of the 2015-16 Budget Act) Background: Existing law implements the LCFF which, among other things, provides for a calculation of the amount of funding to be provided for an "unduplicated pupil." An "unduplicated pupil" is defined for this purpose as a student enrolled in a school district or a charter school who is either classified as an English learner, eligible for a free or reduced-price meal, or is a foster youth. A pupil is only counted once for purposes of this calculation even if a single pupil is classified as an English learner, is eligible for a free or reduced-price meal and is a foster youth. (Education Code § 42238.02) Existing law authorizes the UC to establish and maintain Subject Matter Projects for the purpose of developing and enhancing teachers' subject matter knowledge in the following six specified areas: writing, reading and literature, mathematics, science, history-social science, and world history and international studies. The Regents of the UC with the approval of an intersegmental Concurrence Committee establish and SB 1050 (De León) Page 2 of ? maintain the projects with funds appropriated in the Budget Act. Current law authorizes the UC to establish other subject matter projects and prohibits funds allocated in the Budget Act funds from being used for subject matter projects not specified in law. Current law makes the subject matter projects inoperative on June 30, 2017. (Education Code § 99200 - 99206) According to the author, strategies to increase the number of college graduates requires strengthening of the relationship between the K-12 system and the state's public universities. This bill attempts to incentivize the two systems to work together to create a pipeline from high school to our four-year university system and ensure that all California high school students, regardless of family income, have access to rigorous coursework, quality counseling services, and exposure to college through partnerships between high schools and higher education institutions. Proposed Law: This bill: CDE Requirements Requires the CDE to: (1) annually develop and post on its website a list of high schools with 75 percent or greater enrollment of unduplicated students (English learner, low-income, or foster youth); and (2) compile and report to the Legislature information reported by block grant recipients on the number of students serviced and the number of students admitted to a postsecondary institution, including the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). K-12 College Readiness Block Grant Contingent up on funding provided in the budget act, establishes the K-12 College Readiness Block Grant to prepare high school students, particularly unduplicated students to be eligible for admission into a postsecondary institution, and increasing the four-year-college-going rates of these students. A school SB 1050 (De León) Page 3 of ? district or charter school is required to spend these funds on specified activities, such as: Professional development opportunities to improve student A-G completion rates, student college-going rates, and college readiness of students, including the development of honors and Advanced Placement courses; Counseling services to students and their families regarding college admission requirements and financial aid programs; Materials that support college readiness, including materials that support high performance on assessments required for admittance to a postsecondary institution; Comprehensive advising plans to support student completion of A-G requirements; Partnerships between high schools and postsecondary institutions that support student transition to postsecondary education; and Access to coursework or other opportunities to satisfy A-G requirements to all students. As a condition for receiving block grant funds, requires a school district or charter school to develop a plan describing how the funds will be spent and how the funds will supplement and not supplant funding for existing programs and services to ensure college readiness. Requires information in the plan regarding how it aligns to the school district's or charter school's local control and accountability plan and a description of the extent to which all students will have access to A-G courses. SB 1050 (De León) Page 4 of ? UC Admissions for California Resident Students Requires UC to develop an implementation plan and timeline, as a condition of receiving funding in the budget act for enrolling more resident students at the UC than the 2015-16 fiscal year, to do the following: Ensure each UC campus increases the admission of resident undergraduate students and AB 540 students admitted each year above those admitted in the 2015-16 academic year, and significantly increases the number of Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Plus students. Identify an applicant's status as a LCFF Plus student in his or her application files and direct all campuses to give supplemental consideration in the admissions process to LCFF Plus students consistent with the UC admission policy. Identify resident LCFF Plus student applicants who have fulfilled minimum admission requirements but do not meet the criteria for guaranteed admission to the UC as a high-priority group within the Entitled to Review applicant pool (residents applicants entitled to a comprehensive review). Examine the costs and benefits of extending the eligibility for an application fee waiver to high school graduates from schools that LCFF Plus students attend, and increase the number of campuses covered under the fee waiver policy for this group of applicants. Expand targeted support and retention services for unduplicated students, including enrolled LCFF Plus students that facilitate completion of an undergraduate degree within four years. SB 1050 (De León) Page 5 of ? As a condition of receiving enrollment funds, requires UC to report on various outcomes and services provided related to LCFF Plus students. New California College Readiness Subject Matter Project Requests the UC Regents to establish the California College Readiness Project to provide administrators, counselors, and teachers with strategies, as specified for improving A-G course completion rates, college-going rates, and college readiness of students who attend schools in LEAs eligible for additional funding generated by unduplicated students pursuant to the state's LCFF. Establishes that school personnel employed by LEAs eligible for eligible for supplemental or concentration grant funding generated by unduplicated students pursuant to the state's LCFF receive priority for admission to any programs offered by the California College Readiness Project. Finally, removes the sunset of existing California Subject Matter Projects. Staff Comments: Staff notes timeline issues in which CDE will not have the required data to report to the Legislature by April 30, 2017 on the number of students served by the block grant and the number admitted to a postsecondary institution, as the first year of funding will not be complete by then. -- END -- SB 1050 (De León) Page 6 of ?