BILL ANALYSIS
SB 890
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 22, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
SB 890 (Scott) - As Amended: August 20, 2007
Policy Committee: EducationVote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the voluntary Early Commitment to College
(ECC) program designed to increase college preparation for
low-income K-12 pupils. It provides participating pupils a
community college fee waiver for two or more years of
enrollment, as long as the pupil is a California resident and
continues to show financial need on the free application for
federal student aid. The program would sunset in 2020.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Encourages a school district that chooses to participate in
the ECC program to implement it districtwide, and requires a
district to provide college information to pupils in grades
6-9 who sign the "Save Me a Spot in College" pledge.
2)Requires a participating school district to certify that a
pupil has taken the pledge, and track pupils enrolled in the
ECC program by reporting participation and outcome data as
specified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).
3)Requires the SPI to do the following: (a) identify schools for
the program (targeting 30% of middle and high schools with the
highest poverty rates), (b) develop the pledge, (c) consult
with the California Community Colleges (CCC), the University
of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and
the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), and (d) perform
other administrative duties, including developing letters to
participating pupils outlining college and financial aid
information, as specified.
4)Specifies that a pupil who signs the pledge commits to do the
following: (a) meet all high school graduation requirements,
(b) enroll in college prep coursework (i.e., A-G courses), (c)
seek to achieve proficiency in English and mathematics, (d)
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complete and file an application for free application for
federal student aid, and (e) meet application requirements for
university admission or enroll directly in a CCC within 12
months of high school graduation.
5)Requires school districts, through existing programs, to
provide information and services through middle and high
school years, including transcript reviews, financial aid
information, and college admission requirements, as specified.
This measure also requires participating pupils to receive a
booklet of college information.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF administrative costs, of approximately $200,000, to the SPI
to administer the ECC program, as specified.
2)GF/98 cost pressure of about $12 million to provide a CCC fee
waiver to qualified pupils who sign and meet the pledge
requirements and enroll in a CCC. This assumes 10% of
qualifying pupils receive a CCC fee waiver. While this bill
does not propose to provide the fee waiver to all students who
sign the pledge, it does provide an entitlement to those
students who do meet the requirements. To the extent that the
pledge leads to more K-12 pupils enrolling in the UC, CSU, and
CCC, there will be enrollment cost pressure as well.
3)GF cost pressure, likely between $1 million and $3 million, to
expand current K-12 programs that serve low-income students
and prepare students for college admission, such as the
Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. AVID
is a college outreach program that provides an in-school
academic elective for students in grades 5-12 (typically
low-income) to prepare them for college eligibility and
success. The 2007-08 Budget Conference Report provides $9
million for the AVID program.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . In May 2007, the Public Policy Institute of
California (PPIC) released a report entitled Can California
Import Enough College Graduates to Meet Workforce Needs, which
indicates the state will soon experience a shortage of skilled
workers. The highly skilled baby boom generation will be
retiring and projections indicate that California's
replacement workforce will have lower levels of educational
attainment (if current trends continue). The fastest growing
segment of California's population is immigrants and their
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children, particularly Latinos, and they will be a large
percentage of the working-age population by 2025. However,
Latinos are among the least likely to finish high school or to
attend or finish college. Further exacerbating the problem,
the PPIC study predicts that California will not be able to
import enough skilled workers (those with college degrees and
beyond) to meet the economy's needs. Specifically, it
estimates that by 2020, 39% of California's jobs will require
a college degree, yet only 33% of the labor pool is likely to
have the necessary education.
In November 2006, UC ACCORD/UCLA IDEA projects released a
report entitled Removing the Roadblocks: Fair College
Opportunities for All California Students. This report
provides statistics that demonstrate the lack of access poor
and minority students have to an "A-G" curriculum and other
resources that indicate a college-prep culture.
2)CCC fee waiver . Currently, the CCC administers the Board of
Governor's (BOG) fee waiver program, which waives the fees of
students whose family income is at or below 150% of the
poverty level or who demonstrate financial need as specified.
According to the CCC, 29% of all CCC students (2.5 million)
and approximately 52% of full-time students (348,806) receive
a fee waiver.
3)Current law requires students in grades 9 to 12 to take three
courses in English, two courses in mathematics, two courses in
science, three courses in social studies, one course in visual
or performing arts of foreign language, and two courses in
physical education. School districts may add other
requirements for graduation at their discretion. UC and the
CSU require high school students to complete a specified
pattern of coursework to be eligible for admission. This
course pattern of 15 courses is commonly known as the A-G
requirements. Courses that meet the A-G requirements must be
previously reviewed and approved by UC. Students who do not
have access to the A-G required courses in high school are,
essentially, unable to qualify for admission to either UC or
CSU upon high school graduation.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081