BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 890|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 890
Author: Scott (D), et al
Amended: 8/8/07
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/26/07
AYES: Scott, Wyland, Alquist, Denham, Maldonado, Padilla,
Romero, Simitian, Torlakson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 16-0, 5/31/07
AYES: Torlakson, Cox, Aanestad, Ashburn, Cedillo, Corbett,
Dutton, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza, Ridley-Thomas, Runner,
Simitian, Steinberg, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Battin
SENATE FLOOR : 32-3, 6/6/07
AYES: Ackerman, Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett,
Correa, Cox, Denham, Ducheny, Dutton, Harman, Kehoe,
Kuehl, Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Margett, Migden,
Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Ridley-Thomas, Romero,
Runner, Scott, Simitian, Steinberg, Torlakson, Vincent,
Wiggins, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Florez, Hollingsworth, McClintock
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Cogdill,
Perata
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-5, 8/13/08 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Early Commitment to College Program
SOURCE : Author
CONTINUED
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DIGEST : This bill establishes the Early Commitment to
College Program, a voluntary program which would be
administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
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.
Assembly Amendments make numerous changes without altering
the intent of the bill or the program created. Amendments
add numerous coauthors.
ANALYSIS : 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.
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 California Community College (CCC)
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 (FAFSA). The program sunsets on January 1, 2019.
Specifically the bill:
1. Encourages a school district that chooses to participate
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in the ECC program to implement it district wide and
requires a school 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
percent of public middle and high schools with the
highest poverty rates).
B. Develop the pledge.
C. Consult with CCC, the University of California
(UC), the California State University (CSU), and the
California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
D. Perform other administrative duties, including
developing letters to participating pupils outlining
college and financial aid information, as specified.
E. Recommend to the Legislature by November 1, 2017,
whether the ECC should be continued, 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. Complete and file a FAFSA.
E. Meet application requirements for university
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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 bill also requires participating pupils
to receive a booklet of college information.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
General Fund administrative costs of approximately $200,000
to the SPI to provide staff to administer the ECC program,
as specified.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/07)
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
Campaign for College Opportunity
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
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Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Innercity Struggle
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO
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
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
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Arambula, Beall, Benoit, Berg,
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De
Leon, DeSaulnier, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Garcia,
Garrick, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton, Houston,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Krekorian, La
Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza,
Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello, Nunez, Parra, Plescia,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Spitzer, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Walters, Wolk, Bass
NOES: Anderson, DeVore, Gaines, Huff, Maze
NO VOTE RECORDED: Sharon Runner, Soto
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NC:do 8/16/08 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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