BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2000
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 2000 (Gomez) - As Amended:  April 24, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher  
          EducationVote:10-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill allows an otherwise eligible student to qualify for  
          resident tuition, pursuant to AB 540, and state financial aid,  
          pursuant to AB 131 (Dream Act), if the student has attained  
          credits in California equal to three or more years of full-time  
          high school coursework. (Current law requires the student to  
          have attended a California high school for at least three  
          years.)

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          The number of students impacted by this bill is unknown. In the  
          LAUSD, five students who could have benefited from this bill  
          graduated in 2012-12 after attending less than three years of  
          high school. Extrapolating statewide yields a total of around 70  
          students. The fiscal impact would depend on the institutions  
          that these students would attend. If attendance were to be 15 at  
          community colleges, 30 at CSU, 15 at UC, and 10 at nonpublic  
          institutions:

          1)Revenue losses to the segments in the first year would be  
            minor at community colleges, $335,000 at CSU, and $340,000 at  
            UC. These costs would increase approximately fourfold over the  
            following three years as additional eligible high school  
            graduates enter college. This assumes that, absent this bill,  
            these students would still attend these institutions and pay  
            the much higher nonresident tuition, which in many cases would  
            be unlikely.

          2)Cal Grant (General Fund) costs in the first year would be  
            about $450,000 in the first year increase to around $2 million  








                                                                  AB 2000
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            in the fourth year.

          3)Institutional aid in the first year is estimated to be about  
            $150,000 at UC and $126,000 at CSU, increasing fourfold over  
            the next three years.

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . According to the author, current law does not consider  
          individuals who finish high school early, and would otherwise be  
          eligible for AB 540 or Dream Act benefits. The author notes that  
          in California, high school students can participate in  
          accelerated learning programs in order to graduate early.  
          Students that accelerate their learning, such as through  
          concurrent community college enrollment to obtain high school  
          credits, and graduate ahead of completing the three-year high  
          school attendance requirement have been denied AB 540 status.  
          The bill is intended to ensure that students are not forced to  
          forego or delay their life goals due to the strict three-year  
          attendance requirement.
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081