BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman

                                           405 (Steinberg)
          
          Hearing Date:  05/31/07         Amended: 05/15/07
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: ED 6-1
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   SB 405 would establish the College and Career  
          Opportunity Program (CCOP) for the purposes of providing  
          additional support and academic assistance for high schools that  
          are ranked in deciles 1 through 5 on the Academic Performance  
          Index (API) in order to ensure that pupils are offered a course  
          of study sufficiently rigorous to prepare students for  
          postsecondary education and/or for work through career technical  
          education.  Schools receiving support shall meet certain  
          criteria as determined by the Superintendent of Public  
          Instruction, who would also be required to conduct an evaluation  
          of the program.  This program would become inoperative as of  
          January 1, 2014.  

          The bill would also require additional duties of school  
          counselors, including conferences with the parents of specified  
          pupils deemed at risk of failing a course or of not meeting the  
          curricular requirements for admission to the University of  
          California and the California State University.

          The bill would also require additional duties of the county  
          superintendent of schools related to middle and high schools in  
          the decile 1-3 range, such as examining whether or not schools  
          are providing a course of study that prepares students for  
          postsecondary education, and providing assistance to those that  
          are not.  
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2007-08      2008-09       2009-10     Fund
           CCOP                   $25,000    $25,000     $25,000   General*

          Local mandate on       $200       $200        $200      General*  

          county superintendents

          Counseling requirements$2,000     $2,000      $2,000    General*











          SDE implementation     $500       $200        $200      General
          *Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding  
          guarantee
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.

          The bill provides that no more than 100 schools could  
          participate in CCOP and that each would receive $100 per pupil.   
          The bill further specifies that no more than $25 million would  
          annually be appropriated for this purpose.  

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          Page 2
          SB 405 (Steinberg)

          The current Middle and High School Supplemental Counseling  
          Program is proposed to be funded at nearly $209 million as of  
          the May Revision.  By increasing the requirements of counselors,  
          this bill would increase pressure for additional funding.   
          Assuming an increase of 1% of counseling activities and costs,  
          this bill would create a corresponding cost pressure of $2  
          million, annually.

          The Department of Education reports that costs for identifying  
          qualifying schools, making grant awards, monitoring, reporting,  
          evaluating, and for revising the API, as specified, would cost  
          $500,000 initially and $200,000 for ongoing activities.  

          Further, the new required activities of the county school  
          superintendents would constitute a state reimbursable mandate.   
          There are over 450 high schools in deciles 1 through 3, and also  
          hundreds of middle schools.  Assuming that enhanced activities  
          would cost $2,000 to $5,000 for each of the 58 counties, total  
          state costs would range from $116,000 to $290,000.  Staff  
          assumes an average annual cost of $200,000 for purposes of this  
          analysis.