BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 194
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 194 (Beall)
As Amended August 30, 2011
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |66-7 |(April 11, |SENATE: |33-1 |(August 31, |
| | |2011) | | |2011) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Requires each campus of the California State
University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC),
and requests the University of California (UC), to give priority
in enrollment in classes to any foster youth or former foster
youth. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires CSU and each CCC district, and requests UC, to grant
priority in their systems for registration for enrollment to
any foster youth or former foster youth.
2)Defines "foster youth" to mean any person who is currently in
foster care, and "former foster youth" to mean any person who
is an emancipated foster youth and who is up to 24 years of
age.
3)Sunsets these provisions as of July 1, 2017.
4)Declares this act imposes a state mandate on CCC districts
that is reimbursable by the state.
The Senate amendments add the sunset date.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was virtually identical to
the version approved by the Assembly.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, while this bill creates a potentially significant
reimbursable mandate for CCC, the CCC Chancellor's Office has
indicated that it considers this bill's requirements to be minor
and implementation absorbable. If no mandate claim is sought,
there would be no additional state costs for this bill.
Further, CCCs did not file a mandate claim for the provisions of
SB 272 (Runner), Chapter 356, Statutes of 2007, which set in
AB 194
Page 2
statute the requirement to give priority registration to
specified veterans.
COMMENTS : Priority registration enrollment decisions are made
at the campus level at each segment. This process allows
specified students access to classes ahead of the general
student population. As state support for higher education has
decreased while enrollments have increased at the three
segments, classes have become increasingly impacted-unable to
accommodate all students who enroll in the course. Thus,
students who have priority registration enrollment status have a
significant advantage over other students, particularly at CCC.
Campuses have wide discretion in how they assign priority,
although current law provides that priority be given current and
former members of the Armed Forces for two years upon leaving
active duty.
There are currently between 600 and 800 former foster youth
attending UC, 1,200 attending CSU, and 6,500 attending CCC.
According to a December 2005 report by the Institute for Higher
Education Policy entitled, "Higher Education Opportunities for
Foster Youth," of the foster youth who complete high school and
are college qualified, only about 20% enrolled in higher
education compared to about 60% of their peers.
The CCC Chancellor's Office administers the Foster Youth Success
Initiative, which assists foster youth by connecting the
students with support services and financial aid needed to
achieve their academic goals. CSU campuses administer on-campus
programs designed to provide comprehensive support services for
former foster youth to ensure the admission, retention, and
graduation of foster youth. UC campuses provide financial
support, academic advising and career counseling, personal
counseling, community engagement and assistance with planning
transitions to both college and employment.
Analysis prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0002473
AB 194
Page 3