BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 813
AUTHOR: Committee on Veteran Affairs
AMENDED: April 25, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 27, 2011
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : Public postsecondary education: veterans'
enrollment.
SUMMARY
This bill extends the period of time, from two years to
five years, that a former member of the Armed Forces can
receive priority registration enrollment at the California
State University (CSU) and the California Community
Colleges (CCC). The bill requests that the University of
California comply with priority enrollment as specified in
this measure.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
Declares legislative intent regarding the categories of
priority for purposes of undergraduate resident student
enrollment planning and admission at the University of
California (UC) and CSU, in the following order (Education
Code � 66201):
a) Continuing undergraduate students in good
standing.
b) CCC students who have successfully completed
a course of study
in an approved transfer agreement program.
c) Other CCC students who have met all
requirements for transfer.
d) Other qualified transfer students.
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e) California residents entering at the
freshman or sophomore levels.
However, one exception to the above prioritization applies
for CSU, who must admit with junior status any community
college student meeting the associate degree for transfer
requirements who will receive priority over other community
college transfers. (EC � 66747)
Requires CCC and CSU, and requests UC, to give priority for
registration for enrollment to any member or former member
of the Armed Services for any academic term attended at one
of these institutions within two years of leaving active
duty, if the institution already administers a priority
enrollment system.
(EC � 66025.8)
ANALYSIS
This bill extends the period of time, from two years to
five years, that a former member of the Armed Forces of the
United States can receive priority registration enrollment
at the California State University (CSU) and the California
Community Colleges (CCC). The bill requests that the
University of California comply with priority enrollment as
specified in this measure.
In addition, the bill requires reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts to be made if the Commission
on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs
mandated by the state.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the Senate Committee
on Veterans Affairs even though existing law permits
an honorably discharged veteran a two-year timeframe
to exercise priority enrollment, the two-year
timeframe does not coincide with the various
enrollment and admission processes that are currently
being utilized at the public postsecondary education
institutions.
For example, a veteran separates from service in
February, gets home, looks for employment following
their discharge from service, but subsequently wishes
to attend college, and applies to a university or
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college. However, given the state of public higher
education funding, many campuses have closed
enrollment sooner and are offering less courses than
in recent history. Therefore this veteran may have
lost almost all of the two years of priority
enrollment.
2) Further complicating matters, perpetual Budget
shortfalls. The 2011 Budget proposes funding
reductions of $500 million to both UC and CSU. Both
systems are over-enrolled (they serve more students
than the State funds them to educate) and may need to
reduce the number of students they admit in order to
absorb the reductions in their State budgets. The
Governor's budget proposes a $400 million budget
reduction to CCC, which translates into fewer course
offerings since CCC has no admission requirements.
Thus, admission to UC and CSU will become increasingly
competitive as they reduce their enrollments, and
competition for class offerings at CSU and CCC, in
particular, will continue to increase as fewer courses
are offered as a result of budget cuts.
3) Reciprocity ? In essence, this bill benefits all
members of the Armed Forces of the United States, does
this make sense? Does it make sense for California to
provide a benefit to residents of other states when
those states may not provide similar benefits to
Californians? As currently written, this measure
would give priority enrollment status to all veterans.
In addition, though the Committee on Veteran Affairs
has made a case that the current timeframe for
priority enrollment for veterans is limiting; however
the case for more than doubling the timeframe seems
out of sync with the current fiscal condition of the
state outlined in Comment #2.
Therefore, staff recommends two amendments: (1) limit
the timeframe for enrollment priority for veterans to
three years, and (2) provide this extended priority
enrollment benefit to any member or former member of
the Armed Forces of the United States and who is a
resident of California? "
4) Reimbursable mandated costs . In SB 272 (Chapter 356,
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2007), the statute that provided the original two-year
timeframe for priority enrollment contained a possible
reimbursable mandate. At that time, the Department of
Finance indicated "while we believe that costs for the
community college system as a whole would be minor to
implement the provisions of this bill, these costs
could be found to be reimbursable state mandates on
local community college districts. We estimate that
these costs would range into the low thousands of
dollars statewide."
5) Related legislation . AB 649 (Harkey) is very similar
to this measure; however, AB 649 provides five years
of priority enrollment for veterans who are California
residents.
SUPPORT
University of California
OPPOSITION
None on file.