BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 230|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 230
Author: Carter (D), et al.
Amended: 4/14/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/8/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock,
Huff, Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/5/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Joint educational programs: middle college
high school
students: enrollment priority
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill exempts a student attending a middle
college high school from the requirement that California
Community College 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.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
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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 California Community College (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 middle college high schools have
proven to be a highly effective collaborative effort
between local school districts and community colleges,
and that the goal of the middle college high school 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 middle college high schools 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, 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 Superintendent of Public Instruction, for
the operation of an alternative school, to waive any
provision of the Education Code, except as specified.
This bill exempts a student attending a middle college high
school from the requirement that 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.
Background
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Middle college high school and early college high school .
Middle college high school 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, middle college high schools 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 the California
Department of Education (CDE), middle college high schools
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 Early College High
School Initiative. According to information on CDE's Web
site, early college high schools 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
FCCC, many early college high schools have some of the
highest API scores, graduation and attendance rates in
their respective districts or regions. The FCCC points out
that nationwide, attendance rates for early college high
school students average over 90 percent, as do
grade-to-grade promotion rates. In California, the FCCC
serves as an intermediary for the early college high school
initiative, and works with 23 community college-high school
partnerships throughout 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
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for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching,
conducted a survey study of high school students
participating in middle college high school and early
college high school 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.
Comments
Middle college high schools and early college high schools
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 middle college high
school or early college high school program, fall under
this low enrollment priority category. According to
information provided by the author's office, pupils
attending middle college high school and early college high
school 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's office also points out that middle college high
schools and early college high schools 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 middle college high school
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
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is to give pupils in these programs increased access to CCC
courses and expand their opportunities to complete the
middle college high school 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 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 middle
college high school, if the student is seeking to enroll in
a community college course that is required for the
student's middle college high school program. The proposal
does not give middle college high school students priority
in CCC enrollment but rather gives CCCs some flexibility in
the priority assignment for middle college high school
students.
Related Legislation
AB 160 (Portantino), 2011-12 Session, 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. (In Senate
Education Committee)
AB 194 (Beall), 2011-12 Session, requires each campus of
the California State University and the CCCs, and requests
the University of California, to give priority in
enrollment in classes to foster youth and to former foster
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youth up to 24 years of age. (In Senate Appropriations
Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/9/11)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Community College Chancellor's Office
Los Angeles Unified-Harbor Teacher Prep Academy
Rancho Santiago Community College District
Regional Council of Rural Counties
San Bernardino Community College District
Superintendent, San Bernardino Unified School District
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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/5/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Furutani, Garrick, Gorell, Jones,
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Nielsen, Vacancy
CPM:mw 6/9/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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