BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2
AUTHOR: Portantino
AMENDED: June 14, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 22, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
NOTE: This bill has been requested by the Senate Rules
Committee. A "do
pass" motion should include a referral to the
Committee on Senate
Rules.
SUBJECT : Higher Education Accountability.
SUMMARY
This bill requires that the state establish an
accountability framework to biennially assess and report on
the collective progress of the state's system of
postsecondary education in meeting specified educational
and economic goals, and declares legislative intent that
the University of California (UC), the California State
University (CSU), the California Community Colleges (CCC)
and the private and independent colleges and universities
in California provide informational reporting for students
and parents, as specified.
BACKGROUND
AB 1417 (Pacheco, Statutes of 2004) required the Board of
Governors (BOG) of the CCC to provide recommendations
regarding the design of a structure for the annual
evaluation of district-level performance in meeting
statewide educational outcomes. The resulting
Accountability Reporting for the Community Colleges (ARCC)
is in the process of being implemented. The ARCC currently
contains data for a variety of indicators. According to
the Chancellor's Office because the ARCC indicators have
unique definitions, they cannot be compared to indicators
generated for other states or by other studies of the CCC.
AB 2
Page 2
Both the CSU and the UC have entered into system-specific
"compacts" and then "partnerships" with the Governor to
ensure stable multi-year funding in exchange for a
commitment to deliver on specific performance measures.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Requires that the state establish an accountability
framework for the purpose of biennially assessing the
collective progress of the state's system of
postsecondary education in meeting specified
educational and economic goals. Specifically it:
a) Establishes principles to guide
the development of the framework.
b) Requires the framework be used to
measure progress towards specified goals by
collecting and reporting information that answers
the following six statewide policy questions:
i) Are enough
Californians prepared for postsecondary
education?
ii) Are enough Californians going to
college?
iii) Is the state's postsecondary
education system affordable to all
Californians?
iv) Are enough Californians
successfully completing certificates and
degrees?
v) Are college graduates
prepared for life and work in California?
vi) Are California's people,
communities, and economy benefiting?
c) Requires that the questions
AB 2
Page 3
delineated in (b) be answered by collecting a
select number of indicators of progress, not to
exceed 30, and authorizes the collection of
information to respond to 26 indicators
delineated in the bill.
d) Establishes the California
Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the
central repository for collecting and maintaining
all data for the framework and making data
available in a statewide aggregate format,
segmentally, and regionally. Additionally it:
i) Requires the segments
of higher education in California to provide
CPEC data, as specified.
ii) Requires the segments, to the extent
possible, to rely upon existing data,
information systems, reports and processes
in providing the required data.
e) Requires the collection of the
indicators of progress by race, ethnicity,
gender, Cal Grant recipient status, and
socioeconomic status to the extent available and
to be collected and maintained longitudinally
where appropriate, and, to the extent possible,
coordinated and aligned with other longitudinal
data systems.
f) Requires the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) and the Department of Finance to
jointly convene a Technical Advisory Committee
(TAC) to coordinate the technical specifications
of the indicator data needed to comply with the
bill's provisions. Specifically it:
i) Specifies the
representation on the TAC to include segment
representatives, California Postsecondary
Education Commission (CPEC), the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO) (the chair of the
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)), up to
three individuals (to be selected by the
LAO) with expertise in similar state
AB 2
Page 4
accountability efforts and who are not
regular employees of any California
postsecondary education segment, and
authorizes the LAO to request technical
input from a representative of any state
agency that maintains data helpful in
responding to the statewide policy
questions.
ii) Requires the LAO, in consultation
with the Department of Finance (DOF) to
report its written findings and
recommendations to the Governor, legislative
policy committees, and the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee (JLBC) by January 30, 2012.
iii) Requires the LAO to consider any
written concerns provided by the JLBC and/or
Governor within 30 days of the release of
its report, and, in consultation with DOF,
to revise its report as it deems appropriate
to respond to these concerns.
iv) Declares legislative intent that,
to the extent the Governor and Legislature
concur with the LAO recommendations, the
data and indicators be adopted by statute
and authorizes their modification any year
as part of the annual budget act.
2) Establishes a reporting process for the information
collected under the framework. Specifically it:
a) Requires CPEC, beginning August 1,
2012, and biennially thereafter, to provide the
Legislature and the Governor with a summary
report of information collected under the
framework and requires copies be made available
to the DOF, the Secretary of Education, and the
governing body of each of the segments of higher
education, as well as publicly available, as
specified.
b) Requires the LAO, within 120 days,
to provide an analysis of the data in the report
assessing progress on the six questions,
AB 2
Page 5
identifying factors explaining the level of
progress, and identifying policy and funding
issues for legislative consideration and to
present its report at a joint hearing of the
appropriate legislative committees and budget
subcommittees to be convened on or before
December 30, 2012.
c) Authorizes the governing boards of
the public segments of higher education and the
Association of Independent California Colleges
and Universities to provide biennial reports at
the joint hearing, as part of the accountability
record and requires the reports to include: Each
segment's priorities for the state's goal areas,
major activity underway to address each priority,
performance indicators used to track progress,
major highlights or issues from the data, each
segment's institutional goals for student
learning outcomes and their assessment and use of
assessments to improve learning, and a summary of
activities undertaken to address; special state
needs, programs to assist elementary and
secondary students to meet placement and
admission standards at each segment, programs
implemented to provide professional development
for new and practicing teachers, remediation
efforts and outcomes, efforts to expand capacity
to effectively and efficiently serve students,
including the collaborative use of facilities
across segments, distance learning, expanded
operations, including quantifiable measures of
increased productivity.
3) Defines the segments of postsecondary education to
include the California Community Colleges, the
California State University, the University of
California, and independent colleges and universities
and clarifies that they are represented by their
respective boards and by the Association of
Independent California Colleges and Universities, and
specifies that community college level reporting of
available information is only required of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
4) Declares legislative intent that the UC, the CSU, the
AB 2
Page 6
CCC, and the private and independent colleges and
universities provide informational reporting for
students and parents that improve their understanding
and comparison of postsecondary educational
institutions.
5) Declares the Legislatures intent that the information
gathered under the framework be utilized by the
Governor and Legislature to establish clear and
measurable goals, as specified, establish timelines
for achieving these goals, and develop policy and
budget proposals, as specified for achieving these
goals. Further it:
a) Declares the Legislature's intent
that the Governor convene a task force to review
the framework and recommend any necessary
modifications to goals and questions, and that
the task force include specified membership.
b) Declares the Legislature's intent
that an advisory body to the task force be
established to provide technical expertise and
guidance and that include but not be limited to
representatives from the public segments of
postsecondary education and the Association of
Independent California Colleges and Universities,
LAO, DOF, legislative staff from appropriate
policy committees, and CPEC, and that these
members receive no compensation except for
reimbursement of actual expenses for
participation.
6) Declares the following educational and economic goals
for California by 2020:
a) That educational pipeline numbers
improve sufficiently so that it is among the top
10 states in the nation in this regard.
b) That per capita income be at the
average of the top 10 new economy states, as
defined.
c) That it be in the top 10 states
nationally for the percentages of its age groups
AB 2
Page 7
with degrees and certificates conferred.
7) Deletes existing CPEC accountability reporting
requirements and activities which would be replaced by
the higher education accountability framework
established by the bill.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Informational hearing . On January 31, 2007, the
Senate Education Committee held an informational
hearing on Higher Education Accountability. National
experts testified on trends in higher education
accountability as well as California's specific
challenges in meeting the educational and economic
needs of its citizenry. It was noted that while each
public segment of higher education in California
participates in system-specific accountability
efforts, there is a lack of meaningful data and
analysis to guide fiscal and policy decisions and to
assess the collective progress of the state's system
of postsecondary education in meeting the state's
educational and economic needs.
In 2002, the Senate commissioned a study of national
trends in higher education accountability. The
resulting report: " An Accountability Framework for
California Higher Education: Informing Public Policy
and Improving Outcome," provided the initial framework
for developing an integrated system of accountability
for higher education in California and is the basis
for this bill.
2) Prior legislation .
This bill is almost identical to AB 218 (Portantino,
2009) which was heard and passed by this committee in
July 2009 by a vote of 8-1. AB 219 was subsequently
held under submission in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
This bill is also identical to SB 325 (Scott) which
was passed by the Legislature and vetoed by the
Governor in 2008. The Governor's veto message read:
While I respect the author's intent to establish
AB 2
Page 8
a statewide system of accountability for
postsecondary education and a framework to assess
the collective contribution of California's
institutions of higher education toward meeting
statewide economic and educational goals, this
bill falls short in providing any framework for
incentives or consequences that would modify
behavior to meet any policy objectives. I
believe our public education systems should be
held accountable for achieving results, including
our higher education segments, and would consider
a measure in the future that provides adequate
mechanisms that will effectuate tangible gains in
student outcomes and operational efficiencies.
SB 1331 (Alpert) passed by the Legislature and vetoed
by the Governor in 2004, would have established a
California Postsecondary Education Accountability
(CPSEA) structure to provide an annual assessment of
how the state is meeting identified statewide public
policy goals in higher education. The Governor's veto
message read in pertinent part:
While I favor accountability for all levels of
education, this bill mainly establishes only a
reporting structure for four broad policy goals
rather than providing for outcomes, such as
performance based measures, historically
associated with accountability systems.
SUPPORT
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
California Postsecondary Education Commission
OPPOSITION
None received.