BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2548 (Ting) - UC and CSU Eligibility Study
Amended: July 2, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 14, 2014
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 2548 requires the California Department of
Education (CDE) to conduct studies of the percentages of
California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible
for admission into the University of California (UC) and the
California State University (CSU), no more than once every four
years and within 18 months of receiving funding for this
purpose.
Fiscal Impact (as approved on August 14, 2014): The total cost
for one eligibility study will likely be approximately $1.5 - $2
million.
Background: Existing law requires each local education agency to
offer a course of study that prepares prospective pupils for
admission to state colleges and universities.
Existing law further requires the state Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to assist school districts to ensure that all
public high school pupils have access to a core curriculum that
meets the admission requirements of the UC and CSU.
Existing law establishes the California Postsecondary Education
Commission (CPEC) to be responsible for the coordinating public,
independent and private postsecondary education in California
and to provide independent policy analyses and recommendations
to the Legislature and Governor on postsecondary education
issues. Among the many products that CPEC produced was a study
of California public high school graduates' eligibility for
admission into the UC and CSU. The last such eligibility study
was conducted in 2007, and the report was released in 2008.
(Education Code � 66900 et. seq.)
In 2011, Governor Brown vetoed CPEC funding, resulting in its
closure in November 2011. Although, the Governor eliminated all
AB 2548 (Ting)
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General Fund support for CPEC, its statutory authority remains
intact.
Proposed Law: This bill requires the CDE to periodically conduct
studies of the percentages of California public high school
graduates estimated to be eligible for admission into the UC and
the CSU. In addition, this bill:
1) Requires the CDE to work collaboratively with the UC and
CSU to use existing vendors to conduct the study as
efficiently as possible.
2) Requires the eligibility study to be conducted no more
frequently than every four years.
3) Requires the bill study to be completed within 18 months of
when state or nonstate funds are made available for this
purpose.
Staff Comments: Eligibility studies are conducted by collecting
transcripts from a sample of high schools throughout the state.
In the past, each transcript has been reviewed by university
staff to see if the pattern of courses, grades, and test scores
would make the student eligible for admission. The cost of the
studies required by this bill will largely depend on the sample
size of transcripts reviewed; the larger the sample size, the
more staff time it will take to conduct the study.
If this bill is enacted, the CDE plans to contract out for each
major component of the study: (1) transcript collection and
review, (2) college admissions test review, and (3) report
writing. The CDE estimates that those contracts will cost $1.8
million in total. It is likely that the CDE will require
additional staffing to coordinate with the UC and CSU. It would
be reasonable to estimate needing 1 dedicated PY and office
technician support throughout the process. CDE staffing costs
should not exceed $200,000 if the major components of the study
will be completed by contractors.
The UC and CSU costs are estimates based on their prior level of
involvement in eligibility studies conducted by CPEC. To the
extent that the contracts overlap with work previously completed
by UC and CSU staff, the segments' costs may be reduced.
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Author's Amendments require the CDE to work collaboratively with
the UC and CSU to determine the specific role of each entity in
conducting the study, ensure that work is not duplicated, and
utilize existing vendors familiar with the scope of previous
studies.