BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Jack Scott, Chair
2007-2008 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 890
AUTHOR: Scott
INTRODUCED: February 23, 2007
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 25, 2007
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Nancy Anton
SUBJECT : Early College Commitment Program
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Early College Commitment Program,
a voluntary program which would be administered by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). Districts
volunteering to participate in this program would be
required to undertake a variety of activities aimed at
increasing high school completion rates and motivating
pupils to take rigorous college preparatory or career
technical coursework, as specified.
BACKGROUND
The California Student Opportunity and Access Program
(Cal-SOAP) is administered by the California Student Aid
Commission (CSAC). It was statutorily established in 1978
and is directed to improve the flow of information about
postsecondary education and financial aid while raising the
achievement levels of low-income, elementary and secondary
school student or geographic regions with documented
low-eligibility or college participation rates, and who are
first in their families to attend college. Cal-SOAP
currently funds projects operating in 17 locations through
the state by consortia made up of secondary and
postsecondary schools and community agencies. Projects
annually apply to CSAC for funds and, by law, must provide
equal or greater matching funds. Some common services
provided by the consortia include advising, tutoring,
parent outreach and college awareness workshops.
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the Early College Commitment Program,
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a voluntary program administered by the SPI under which
participating school districts would motivate and assist
their students, as specified. Specifically the bill:
1) Establishes the program goals to include:
a) Increasing high school completion and direct
college-going rates for pupils attending schools
with high poverty rates.
b) Motivating students to take rigorous
coursework.
c) Helping families understand that college is
attainable.
d) Preparing the highly skilled workforce
needed in California.
2) Specifies that participation by school districts is
voluntary. However, school districts which voluntary
participate would be encourage to do so on a
districtwide basis and would be required to:
a) Provide schoolwide college information
targeted towards pupils who sign specified "Save
Me a Spot in College" pledge cards.
Participating districts identified by the SPI as
having high proportions of low-income students
would be required to give all grade 6 - 9
students the opportunity to sign the specified
pledge card.
b) Record specified student participation data
and provide reports to the SPI for purposes of
monitoring and evaluating the program.
c) Provide information and services, through
existing programs, to students who sign the
pledge cards through their middle school and high
school years.
3) Requires the SP to:
a) Identify 30 percent of the school districts
which operate middle and high schools which have
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the highest proportion of pupils eligible for
free or reduced-price meals.
b) Develop the "Save Me a Spot in College"
pledge cards and other program materials, as
specified.
c) Consult with the University of California
(UC), the California State University (CSU),
California Community Colleges (CCCs), the
California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) and the
independent colleges and universities.
d) Determine the form of recognition
participating students will receive at the time
of high school graduation.
e) Collect data and evaluate the program, as
specified.
4) Specifies that students signing a "Save Me a Spot in
College" pledge card commit to:
a) Meet all high school graduation
requirements.
b) Seek proficiency in math and English.
c) Take rigorous coursework.
d) Complete an application for financial aid
during their senior year, as specified.
5) Encourages UC, CSU, the CCCs, the independent
colleges, the California Student Opportunity and
Access Program, the CSAC and other businesses and
organizations to provide support services, as needed.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Sunset and evaluation needed? This bill is
establishing a new program. As such, does it make
sense to establish it on a permanent basis prior to
knowing if it will be effective? Staff recommends
that the bill be amended to provide for it to sunset
in 7 years (2014) and, prior to that, for the SPI to
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submit to the Legislature an evaluation and
recommendation for continuation.
2) No funding support . There does not appear to be any
funding support for this program at this time.
3) Recommended amendments . Staff recommends that the
following amendments be adopted to modify and clarify
the bill as follows:
a) Page 3, replace lines 13-15 with: "(b)
Motivate pupils to prepare for college by taking
challenging coursework, which can include college
preparatory and career technical classes,
depending on their interest in pursuing direct"
b) Page 4, replace lines 1-2 with: "Schools
designated as a college opportunity zone, in a
participating school district, shall give all
pupils enrolled in grades 6"
c) Page 4, replace lines 6-13 with: "Schools
not designated as a college opportunity zone, in
a participating school district shall give pupils
who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals
and are enrolled in grades 6-9, inclusive, and
their parent or legal guardian, and all foster
youth and the appropriate adult responsible for
that foster youth, the opportunity to sign a
'Save Me a Spot in College' pledge."
d) Page 5, after line 28 insert: "These
'Roadmap to College' services shall include:
i) Transcript review and academics
assessment, leading to course planning for
the student at the time of enrollment in the
Early College Commitment and annual
reporting to the student on how they are
doing relative to state standards and other
benchmarks.
ii) Information about Scholarshare
College Savings program at the time of
enrollment.
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iii) A visit to at least one community
college (including exposure to career
technical and transfer programs) and at
least one 4-year college.
iv) Information on university
admission tests in the 11th grade.
v) Information on university
admission and community college enrollment
steps in the 12th grade.
vi) Information on the financial aid
application process (including the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid form) in
the 12th grade."
SUPPORT
ALL Student Loan
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFL-CIO)
Anaheim City School District
Applied Research Center
AsianPacific American Legal Center
Automobile Club of Southern California
Bay Area Council
Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative
California Catholic Conference
California Farm Bureau Federation
California for Justice Education Fund
California State PTA
California State University
Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
Citrus College
College of the Sequoias
College Options
Community Action Partnership
Contoural
Contra Costa College
Garvey School District
Girls, Inc.
Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Innercity Struggle
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO
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Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Merced College
Mexican American Community Services Agency
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Modesto Chamber of Commerce
Modesto Junior College
Oakland Unified School District
Orange County Department of Education
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE)
PICO California
Pierce College
Raytheon
Rio Linda Union School District
Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce
San Bernardino County Office of Education
Savanna School District
Southern California Edison
Southwestern College
Stanislaus County Office of Education
UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education & Access
United Way
West Los Angeles College
Yuba Community College District
OPPOSITION
None received.