BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2352
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2352 (Chesbro) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:12-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Provides that a community college district may claim state
apportionment funding for middle college high school (MCHS)
and early college high school (ECHS) students for courses
required for the students' MCHS or ECHS programs even if the
courses do not comply with existing statutory criteria
applicable to other high school students taking community
college courses.
2)Exempts from the low enrollment priority status requirement a
student attending an ECHS if the student is seeking to enroll
in a California Community College (CCC) course that is
required for the student's ECHS program.
FISCAL EFFECT
To the extent districts can claim additional apportionment
funding for MCHS and ECHS students, there will be increased
General Fund (Prop 98) costs. The equivalent of only 33
additional full-time equivalent students (FTES) statewide, at
the current funding rate of $4,636 per FTES would exceed
$150,000. To the extent, however, that community colleges as a
whole are already using all state funds apportioned for
enrollment, the bill will result in additional unknown Prop 98
cost pressure.
COMMENTS
1)Early College High Schools are small, autonomous schools that
AB 2352
Page 2
blend high school and college into a coherent educational
program. They are designed so that all students can achieve
two years of college credit at the same time they are earning
a high school diploma (within four to five years of entering
ninth grade). By reaching out to middle schools or starting
with the seventh grade and providing extensive support, Early
College High Schools ensure that all students are ready for
college-level courses in high school.
Early College High Schools are designed for young people who
are underrepresented in postsecondary education, including
students who have not had access to the academic preparation
needed to meet college readiness standards, students for whom
the cost of college is prohibitive, students of color, first
generation college-goers, and English language learners.
2) Middle College High School is a collaborative program
that enables high-potential, "at-risk" students to obtain a
high school education while concurrently receiving direct
access to college courses and services. The high school is
located on and integrated into the community college
environment, whereby high school students attend classes at
a community college and earn credit toward a high school
diploma while having the opportunity to concurrently take
college courses and to receive more intensive counseling
and administrative attention.
3) Purpose . According to the author, this bill is intended
to remove significant statutory impediments to the
operation of ECHSs and MCHSs. Current law stipulates, for
purposes of receiving state apportionments, that CCC
districts' reports on full-time equivalent students may
only include high school students enrolled in courses that
meet the following criteria: are open to the general
public; are advertised as open to the general public; if
offered on a high school campus, are scheduled when the
campus is open to the general public; for physical
education classes, contain no more than 10% high school
students. This bill exempts early and middle college high
school students from this requirement, thus allowing
districts to claim apportionment funding for courses these
students taking in fulfillment of their programs.
AB 2352
Page 3
In addition, high school pupils participating in MCHS and ECHS
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. Current law
requires the governing board of a CCC district to assign a low
enrollment priority to special part-time or full-time students
in order to ensure these students do not displace regularly
admitted community college students.
AB 230 (Carter)/ Statues of 2011, provided MCHS students with
an exemption to the low priority designation. AB 2352 provides
this same exemption to ECHS students, thus giving them a
better opportunity to complete their programs in a timely
manner.
4)Related Legislation . AB 1451 (Holden), pending in this
committee, addresses several aspects of high school students'
concurrent enrollment in community colleges.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081