BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2352
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2352 (Chesbro)
As Introduced February 21, 2014
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 12-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Williams, Ch�vez, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Fong, Fox, Jones-Sawyer, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Achadjian, Medina, Olsen, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Quirk-Silva, Weber, Wilk | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Exempts from the low enrollment priority requirement a
student attending an early college high school if the student is
seeking to enroll in a California Community College (CCC) course
that is required for the student's early college high school
(ECHS) program; and, provides that a community college district
may claim state apportionment funding for middle college high
school (MCHS) and 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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes MCHS as broad-based comprehensive instructional
programs focusing on college preparatory and school-to-work
curricula, career education, work experience, community
service, and support and motivational activities; and declares
ECHS to be autonomous schools that blend high school and
college into a coherent educational program - specifying that
ECHS pupils should begin taking college courses as soon as
they demonstrate readiness and the college credit earned may
be applied toward completing an associate or bachelor's
degree, transfer to a four-year university, or obtaining a
skills certificate (Education Code (EC) Sections 11300 and
11302).
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2)Provides opportunities for minor students to enroll in
college-level, degree-applicable courses for advanced
scholastic or advanced vocational purposes while they are in
high school and authorizes the governing board of a school
district, upon recommendation of the principal of a pupil's
school and with parental consent, to authorize a student to
concurrently enroll in a community college during any session
or term to undertake one or more courses of instruction (EC
Section 48800 et. seq.).
3)Requires the CCC Chancellor's Office to report to the
Department of Finance and Legislature annually on the amount
of FTES claimed by each CCC district for high school pupils
enrolled in non-credit, non-degree applicable, degree
applicable (excluding physical education), and degree
applicable physical education courses; and provides that, for
purposes of receiving state apportionments, CCC districts may
only include high school students within the CCC district's
report on full-time equivalent students (FTES) if the students
are enrolled in courses that are open to the general public,
as specified. Additionally, 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 that these students do not displace regularly
admitted community college students; however, current law
exempts MCHS students from being assigned low enrollment
priority if they are seeking to enroll in a CCC course that is
required for their MCHS program (EC Sections 76001 and 76002).
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, 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 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 pressures.
COMMENTS :
Middle and early college high schools. MCHS and ECHS operate in
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a similar manner to provide high school pupils opportunities to
take college courses while still in high school as part of an
integrated program. According to information provided by the
author's office, data shows that ECHS are reaching their target
populations; nationally, roughly three-fourths of high school
pupils attending ECHS are students of color, while nearly 60%
report eligibility for free or reduced-priced lunch. Most
students attending ECHS will be the first in their families to
go to college. Currently, there are 40 ECHS in California. The
demographic make-up of the ECHS students in the 40 schools in
California is as follows: 59.52% are Latino; 17.41% are White;
8.57% are Black; and, 6.47% are Asian. To note, 92% of the 40
schools are currently partnered with a CCC.
Challenges for MCHS and ECHS students. 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.
According to the author, pupils attending ECHS 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 argues that ECHS are experiencing a drop
in the number of new student applications due to pupils'
difficulty in enrolling in community college courses.
By providing ECHS students an exemption from the low enrollment
priority requirement, this bill will give ECHS students an
opportunity to complete their programs in a timely manner. AB
230 (Carter), Chapter 50, Statues of 2011, allowed MCHS students
this exemption, but not ECHS students; this bill will give bring
parity to ECHS students.
Course demands. Currently, there is more demand than there are
course offerings at the CCC and 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. According to a
March 2013 report by the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC), course offerings have declined from 420,000 to 334,000
since 2008 - 86,000 or 21% of course offerings - and most were
credit courses necessary to transfer or obtain a degree or
certificate. PPIC estimates that since 2008, 600,000 students
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have not been able to enroll in classes, and another 500,000
students were on waiting lists for fall 2012 courses.
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 an ECHS, if the student is seeking to enroll in a
community college course that is required for the student's ECHS
program. The proposal does not give ECHS students priority in
CCC enrollment but rather gives community colleges some
flexibility in the priority assignment for ECHS students.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0003616