BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 230
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 230 (Carter) - As Amended: April 14, 2011
�This bill was referred to and heard by the Assembly Higher
Education Committee as it relates to the issues under its
jurisdiction]
SUBJECT : Joint educational programs: middle college high
school students: enrollment priority
SUMMARY : Exempts a student attending a middle college high
school (MCHS) from the requirement that California Community
College (CCC) governing boards assign a low enrollment priority
to concurrent enrollment students if that student is seeking to
enroll in a community college course that is required for the
student's middle college high school program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the governing board of a community college district
to admit to any community college under its jurisdiction as a
special part-time or full-time student in any session or term
any student who is eligible to attend community college, as
specified.
2)Requires a CCC governing board to assign concurrent enrollment
students a low enrollment priority to ensure that these
students do not displace regularly admitted students.
3)Finds and declares that MCHSs have proven to be a highly
effective collaborative effort between local school districts
and community colleges, and that the goal of the MCHS is to
select at-risk high school students who are performing below
their academic potential and place them in an alternative high
school located on a community college campus in order to
reduce the likelihood that they will drop out of school before
graduation.
4)Establishes MCHSs as broad-based instructional programs
focusing on college preparatory and school-to-work curricula,
career education, work experience, community service, support
and motivational activities, reduced adult-student ratios,
AB 230
Page 2
flexible scheduling to allow for work internships, community
service experiences, and work apprenticeships.
5)Authorizes school districts to establish and maintain one or
more alternative schools within the district, defines
alternative school for this purpose, and authorizes the SPI,
for the operation of an alternative school, to waive any
provision of the Education Code, except as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has been keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : MCHSs and Early College High Schools (ECHS) operate
in a similar manner to provide high school pupils opportunities
to take college courses while still in high school as part of an
integrated program. Pupils participating in these programs are
considered special part-time or full-time students for purposes
of attending a community college to fulfill the college aspect
of the program. Because current law assigns high school pupils
who seek CCC concurrent enrollment a low enrollment priority,
pupils that are part of a MCHS or ECHS program, fall under this
low enrollment priority category. According to information
provided by the author, pupils attending MCHS and ECHS programs
are encountering difficulty in enrolling in the necessary
community college classes they need to meet the dual degree
coursework requirement of such programs and thus there has been
a decrease in the number of students completing the full mission
of these programs. The author also points out that MCHSs and
ECHSs are experiencing a drop in the number of new student
applications due to pupils' difficulty in enrolling in community
college courses.
This bill seeks to exempt a MCHS pupil from being assigned a
"low-enrollment priority" by a community college, if the pupil
is seeking to enroll in a community college course that is
required for that pupil's middle college high school program.
The intent of the bill is to give pupils in these programs
increased access to CCC courses and expand their opportunities
to complete the MCHS program.
Budget cuts and increased student demand has left CCCs unable to
provide course offerings to fully meet the needs of all students
seeking CCC enrollment. According to the CCC Chancellor's
Office, in 2009-10, the CCC system took a $520 million (8%)
budget cut which resulted statewide in 38,000 fewer course
sections being offered and 140,000 first-time students being
AB 230
Page 3
turned away. Furthermore, the CCC reductions in the 2011-12
Budget will mean an anticipated 350,000 students will be turned
away next year. Because there is more demand than there are
course offerings, course registration priorities play an
important role in managing CCC enrollment. Enrollment
priorities determine which groups of students are enrolled in
courses and which students get turned away. Existing law
requires CCC to assign high school pupils a low enrollment
priority in order to ensure they do not displace regularly
admitted CCC students. This bill creates a narrow exemption
from the low enrollment priority for students attending a MCHS,
if the student is seeking to enroll in a community college
course that is required for the student's MCHS program. The
proposal does not give MCHS students priority in CCC enrollment
but rather gives CCCs some flexibility in the priority
assignment for MCHS students.
Background on MCHS and ECHS : MCHS are established in the
Education Code as broad-based, comprehensive instructional
programs focusing on college preparatory and school-to-work
curricula, career education, work experience, community service,
support and motivational activities. Located on a community
college campus, MCHSs offer students at risk of educational
failure the opportunity to take high school classes and college
classes to increase the likelihood of participating pupils to
qualify for college upon graduation. According to CDE, MCHS
were initially federally funded through the CCC Chancellor's
Office.
The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) received
funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other
foundation partners for the ECHS Initiative. According to
information on CDE's Web site, ECHS are small, autonomous
schools that blend high school and college into a single
education program. They are designed to offer students the
opportunity to achieve an Associate's Degree or two years of
college credit and a high school diploma, within four to five
years of entering ninth grade. According to the Foundation for
California Community Colleges (FCCC), many ECHSs have some of
the highest API scores, graduation and attendance rates in their
respective districts or regions, and the FCCC points out that
nationwide, attendance rates for ECHS students average over 90%,
as do grade-to-grade promotion rates. In California, the FCCC
serves as an intermediary for the ECHS initiative, and works
with 23 community college-high school partnerships throughout
AB 230
Page 4
the state that serve more than 5,500 youth. The initiative
works with underrepresented students historically at risk for
not attending college. FCCC points out that it "has already
seen the success of many of its 23 partner schools. In spring
2008, six of the schools celebrated their first graduations,
with 157 total graduates. Of these students, nine also earned
their associate's degrees at the same time as their high school
diplomas, and 83 were slated to finish their associate's degrees
within the following year." The National Center for
Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching, conducted a
survey study of high school students participating in MCHS and
ECHS and found that students from all backgrounds including
at-risk students performed well in their college classes, and
concludes that students who receive support in undertaking
challenging college-level courses can perform well regardless of
gender, race/ethnicity, place of birth, and socio-economic
status. These programs aim to increase access to higher
education for students from underserved populations.
Suggested amendment : According to the author there are 38 MCHS
and ECHS programs in the state and this bill only applies to
students in MCHS programs. ECHS do not exist in the EC, however
the CDE Web site notes that ECHS are operated as alternative
schools. The EC authorizes schools districts to operate
alternative schools to meet the same standards for curriculum,
instruction, and student performance as traditional schools, but
to also meet these objectives by offering a different structure,
learning philosophy, or academic emphasis to accommodate
different student needs, interests and learning styles. The
MCHS model is one such type of alternative school, and so are
magnet schools, and metropolitan center and technical (MET) high
schools, among others.
This bill was heard in and passed the Assembly Higher Education
Committee on April 12, 2011 with a vote of 8-0.
Arguments in support: The Regional Council of Rural Counties
writes, "AB 230 recognizes that middle high school students are
part of a specialized program and would eliminate their low
enrollment priority by allowing those students to register for
community college classes without limitations. Often rural
areas lack comprehensive educational programs and resources.
Enrollment opportunities, such as those provided by AB 230,
would increase student access to advanced courses and
alternative learning opportunities."
AB 230
Page 5
Related legislation : AB 160 (Portantino) removes certain
restrictions on concurrent enrollment and authorizes school
districts to enter into partnerships with community college
districts to provide high school pupils opportunities for
advanced scholastic work, career technical or other coursework
at a community college campus. AB 160 is pending in this
Committee.
AB 194 (Beall) requires each campus of the California State
University (CSU) and the CCCs, and requests the University of
California (UC), to give priority in enrollment in classes to
foster youth and to former foster youth up to 24 years of age.
AB 194 is pending in the Senate Rules Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087