BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1663|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1663
Author: Dickinson (D)
Amended: 6/20/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/13/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price,
Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Blakeslee, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/7/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: California State Summer
School for Mathematics and Science
SOURCE : University of California
DIGEST : This bill continues the request to the Regents
of the University of California (UC) to set a tuition fee
for the California State Summer School for Mathematics and
Science program (COSMOS) that corresponds to actual program
costs, however this bill allows fees up to but not
exceeding $2,810 per session in the year 2012, and
establishes this amount as the base for future 5% annual
fee increases. This bill also increases the application
fee to an amount not exceeding $30. This bill sunsets
January 1, 2018.
CONTINUED
AB 1663
Page
2
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes the COSMOS to provide an intensive academic
experience for pupils who wish to learn advanced
mathematics and science and prepare to pursue careers in
those areas.
2. Requests the Regents of the UC to operate the program
and to set a tuition fee within a range that corresponds
to actual program costs, up to but not exceeding $1,000
in the year 2000, and to increase this fee by an amount
of up to 5% each year thereafter. In addition, the UC
is permitted to charge an application fee of up to $20.
3. Specifies that pupils who have demonstrated academic
excellence in mathematics and science and who meet
specified criteria shall be eligible for admission.
4. Expresses the intent of the Legislature that at least
50% but not more than 75% of the actual costs of the
COSMOS would be financed by state funds and the balance
of the operating costs would be financed with fees and
private support. (Education Code Section 8660-8669.1)
This bill continues the request to the Regents of the UC to
set a tuition fee for the COSMOS that corresponds to actual
program costs, however this bill allows fees up to but not
exceeding $2,810 per session in the year 2012, and
establishes this amount as the base for future 5% annual
fee increases.
This bill also increases the application fee to an amount
not exceeding $30.
This bill sunsets January 1, 2018.
Comments
A little bit of history . In 1998, AB 2536 (Poochigian),
Chapter 805, Statutes of 1998, enacted the COSMOS, at that
time it was envisioned the program would be administered by
the State Board of Education; this statute made no
CONTINUED
AB 1663
Page
3
reference to a tuition or fee level.
In 1999, the statute was modified by AB 1115
(Strom-Martin), Chapter 78, Statutes of 1999, a Budget
Trailer Bill to request the UC operate the COSMOS. The
bill provided that the UC Regents may set a tuition fee
within a range that corresponds to actual program costs, up
to but not exceeding $1,000 per session in the year 2000,
and may increase this fee by an amount up to 5% each year
thereafter. From the year 2000 to 2005 the program fees
were increased by 5% each year.
SB 755 (Poochigian), Chapter 676, Statutes of 2005,
increased the tuition level to a maximum of $2,200 for the
year 2006 to align tuition with the actual cost of
operating the program at that time. By its own terms, the
bill was in effect for two years and became inoperative and
repealed on January 1, 2008. The shorten period of time,
prior to the inoperative date was for the purpose of
providing a reasonable transition period to continue the
COSMOS and for the UC to pursue changes via a policy
measure, rather than a Budget Trailer Bill or end of
session sleight of hand.
As previously noted, UC did not pursue a legislative policy
remedy, however, the tuition fees were not restored to the
2005 level, but rather continued to increase by 5% every
year, thus resulting in a tuition fee of $2,810 for the
year 2012. In addition, UC is now charging a $30
application fee.
COSMOS background and evaluation results . The COSMOS is an
intensive four-week summer residential program for pupils
with a goal of engaging highly talented and motivated
pupils in an intensive program of study, experimentation,
and activities to further their interest in the science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Pupils completing grades 8-12 have the opportunity to work
with faculty, researchers, and scientists while exploring
advanced STEM topics beyond those usually offered in
California high schools. COSMOS exists at four UC
campuses: Davis, Irvine, San Diego, and Santa Cruz.
According to the UC report on COSMOS from 2006-2010,
CONTINUED
AB 1663
Page
4
demographic information of student participants shows
gender participation in the program is equally split
between male and female. Ethnicity of participants, from
the same time frame, shows that Asian students made up
48.1% of participants followed by 24.2% White, 17.5%
Chicano/Latino, 2.3% African American, and 0.3% American
Indian pupils.
Reports on COSMOS contain evidence supporting the assertion
that COSMOS is realizing the short-term goals the
Legislature intended by providing outstanding students
opportunities to explore STEM disciplines. There is some
evidence that supports the notion that student
participation in COSMOS is having the desired mid- to
long-term effects of encouraging participants to pursue
STEM disciplines as undergraduates and graduate students,
and in their careers. From calendar years 2006-2010,
approximately 3,154 students participated in COSMOS.
Using available National Student Clearinghouse data UC
tracked 2,355 COSMOS graduates (75% of COSMOS graduates)
enrolled in colleges and universities. Of the 2,355 COSMOS
graduates, 2,080 enrolled at four-year colleges (1,297 at
UC campuses) and 250 enrolled at community colleges. Of
the students who enrolled at a UC campus, 1,114 students
have declared a STEM major.
Constitutional autonomy and statutory interaction . Current
statutes provide guidelines for tuition fees, eligibility
criteria, and other program elements, relative to the
operation of COSMOS. Nevertheless these statues request,
and do not require, the UC Regents to operate the program
as outlined in the statutes. The UC's constitutional
autonomy places limitations on legislative control over the
UC. The California Constitution (Section 9 of Article IX)
establishes UC as a public trust and confers the full
powers of the operation and governance upon the UC Regents.
The Constitution establishes that the UC is subject to
legislative control only to the degree necessary to ensure
the security of its funds and compliance with the terms of
its endowments. However, it can be argued that the UC's
failure to restore the fees to the 2005 levels was
inconsistent with legislative intent.
Prior legislation . SB 755 (Poochigian), Chapter 676,
CONTINUED
AB 1663
Page
5
Statutes of 2005, changed some requirements of the
Standardized Testing and Reporting program and increased
the tuition cap of the COSMOS program to $2,200 for the
years 2006 and 2007, and repealed these provisions on
January 1, 2008.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/12)
University of California (source)
AFSCME
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states, "This bill
represents a clarifying technical fix to the Education Code
to reflect the tuition that COSMOS is charging California
residents for 2012 ($2,810) - and would request that the UC
Regents continue to raise annual tuition for California
residents by no more than 5% annually. Current Education
Code language is outdated because it references the year
2000, with a tuition level of $1,000, as the base for
future tuition increases. Legislation in 2005 raised the
tuition level beyond the 2000 base amount but was rendered
inoperative two years later, creating a need to update the
Education Code."
The UC, the sponsor of this bill, contends that the fact
that the 2005 statute sunset and became inoperative and not
extended was an inadvertent oversight on the part of the UC
and this bill seeks to correct it. According to the UC,
establishing the fees at the current levels will ensure
that the program continues to serve and admit students at a
level consistent with the number of pupils the program has
served over the years.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/7/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
CONTINUED
AB 1663
Page
6
Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel P�rez, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brownley, Fletcher, Furutani, Hall,
Mansoor, Portantino
PQ:k 7/2/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED