AB 2548, as amended, Ting. Postsecondary education.
Existing law vests specified powers and duties in the State Department of Education for purposes of the public education system.
Existing law sets forth the functions and responsibilities of the California Postsecondary Education Commission in its capacity as the statewide postsecondary education planning and coordinating agency and adviser to the Legislature and the Governor. In particular, the commission is required to review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education and to make recommendations to the Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of postsecondary education. In carrying out this requirement, the commission is required to periodically conduct a study of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State University.
This bill would make findings and declarations concerning the importance of university eligibility studies and noting that, since the commission ceased operations, these studies have not been conducted. The bill would require the State Department of Education to periodically conduct studies, but no more frequently than every 4 years, of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State University. The bill would require that a study be completed within 18 months from when state or nonstate funds are made available for this purpose.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) University eligibility studies are an important planning tool
4for the University of California and the California State University
5systems and help determine if the systems are drawing from their
6eligibility pools set by the state’s Master Plan for Higher Education.
7University eligibility studies also reveal important trends about
8the state’s college-ready high school populations that can help
9inform elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education policy.
10(b) University eligibility studies were previously conducted
11periodically
by the California Postsecondary Education
12Commission, until the commission ceased operations in 2011. A
13university eligibility study has not been conducted since 2007.
14(c) Despite the absence of the California Postsecondary
15Education Commission, it is still important for the state to have
16measures in place to determine whether the University of California
17and the California State University are carrying out their goals to
18ensure student access and success.
19(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to periodically require a
20university eligibility study to be conducted that is similar in scope
21to the study formerly done by the California Postsecondary
22Education Commission.
Section 33318.6 is added to the Education Code, to
24read:
The Department of Education shall periodically
2conduct studies of the percentages of California public high school
3graduates estimated to be eligible for admission into the University
4of California and the California State University. The Department
5of Education shall work collaboratively with the University of
6California and the California State University tobegin delete use existing begin insert determine the specific role of each entity in conducting
7vendorsend delete
8the study, ensure that work is not duplicated, and utilize existing
9vendors familiar with the scope of previous studiesend insert to conduct the
10study as
efficiently as possible. The study shall be conducted no
11more frequently than every four years, and shall be completed
12within 18 months from when state or nonstate funds are made
13available for this purpose.
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