BILL NUMBER: SB 412 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senators Glazer and De León
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to add Part 40.2 (commencing with Section 67430) to
Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public
postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 412, as amended, Glazer. The California Promise.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under
the administration of the Trustees of the California State
University, and the California Community Colleges, under the
administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in
this state.
This bill would establish the California Promise, which would
require the trustees and the board of governors to
establish a program that authorizes a campus of the California State
University and the California Community Colleges
to enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies specified
criteria to support the student in obtaining an associate
degree within 2 academic years, or a baccalaureate degree
within 4 academic years, or if the student is a community
college transfer student, within two academic years, of
the academic year of the student's freshman admission.
admission, as defined. The bill would require
the trustees to submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature that includes demographic information
about students who participate in the program and a summary
description of significant differences in implementation of the
program by campus. The bill would require the trustees and
the board of governors to submit recommendations to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature regarding
potential financial incentives that can benefit students who
participate in the program.
By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 40.2 (commencing with Section 67430) is added to
Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
PART 40.2. THE CALIFORNIA PROMISE
67430. This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Promise.
67431. For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Academic year of the student's freshman admission" means the
first full academic year in which a person is a student at a campus
of the California State University or the California
Community Colleges. University.
(b) "Board of governors" means the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges.
(c)
( b) "Trustees" means the Trustees of the
California State University.
67432. The California Promise is hereby established to support
students who enroll in the campuses of the California State
University and the California Community Colleges in
obtaining associate degrees within two academic years, and
baccalaureate degrees within four academic years,
as applicable, or within two academic years for
community college transfer students, of the academic year of
the student's freshman admission.
67433. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) This part is needed to facilitate the availability and
completion of coursework for degree programs offered by campuses of
the California State University and the California Community
Colleges and to ensure that students enrolled in
at these campuses are able to complete
associate degree programs within two academic years, and
baccalaureate degree programs within four academic years, as
applicable, or within two academic years for
community college transfer student s, of the
academic year of the student's freshman admission.
(b) A more concerted, statewide effort to create pathways to
four-year graduation is needed at the California State University.
For the 2010 cohort of full-time, first-time students at the
California State University, 19 percent graduated within four
academic years. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the
most recent nationally comparable data shows that the California
State University's overall four-year graduation rate was 16 percent
in 2011, below the national rate of 26 percent among similar public
institutions.
(c) Impediments to graduating within four academic years include
the failure of students to complete sufficient units per academic
year and the lack of available high-demand courses.
(d) New approaches are critical for the future of higher education
in California. Efforts have been ongoing, though sporadic, to
improve postsecondary educational institution enrollment and
graduation. These efforts will need to be intensified and made more
broadly systemic.
(e) Students who graduate within four academic years save tens of
thousands of dollars. In addition to the direct costs of extended
college and university enrollment, students miss out on earnings in
the workforce while they remain in school.
(f) When California experiences a decline in college and
university graduates, the state's economy shrinks and employers seek
qualified candidates outside the state. Furthermore, a larger share
of the state's workforce is downgraded to lower-paying jobs and
consumer behavior and home ownership declines, which leads to
plummeting revenues for local and state government and to more people
relying on increasingly decimated government services.
(g) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, if
bold measures are not taken, California will fall short of the state'
s economic demand by 1.1 million college and university graduates by
2030. An increased demand for highly educated workers will outweigh
the number of qualified applicants for available jobs, which will be
exacerbated when scores of highly educated baby boomers retire. The
share of workers with a baccalaureate degree will be 33 percent in
2030, below the 38 percent that will be needed.
(h) The impact of graduation rates from California State
University campuses is felt not only throughout the state, but also
the nation. One out of every 10 California employees is a California
State University graduate, while one out of every 20 United States
citizens with a college or university degree graduates from a campus
of the California State University. These statistics emphasize the
national importance of graduation rates at California State
University campuses.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California
Promise will enable the California State University system to meet
and exceed the national average of similar public postsecondary
educational institutions as quickly as possible.
(j) The California Promise programs established at the California
State University and the California Community Colleges
in accordance with this part should aim to reflect the
demographics of their respective campuses and target a diverse set of
students.
67434. (a) The trustees and the board of governors
shall develop and implement a California Promise program
that complies with this part at 10 or more of their respective
campuses.
(b) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, the trustees
and the board of governors shall authorize each campus
with a California Promise program pursuant to subdivision (a) to
enter into a pledge with a qualifying student of the campus,
including a community college transfer student, to support the
student in obtaining an associate degree within two academic
years, or a baccalaureate degree within four academic
years, as applicable, or if the student is a
community college transfer student, within two academic years,
of the academic year of the student's freshman admission.
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(e), (d), to be a qualifying student at the
California State University, the student must comply with both of the
following:
(1) Be a California resident for purposes of in-state tuition
eligibility.
(2) Complete at least 30 semester units or the quarter equivalent
per academic year. Units completed by the student during a summer
term may count towards the previous or following academic year as
determined by the trustees.
(d) To be a qualifying student at a community college, the student
must comply with all of the following:
(1) Be a California resident for purposes of in-state tuition
eligibility.
(2) Complete at least 30 semester units or the quarter equivalent
per academic year. Units completed by the student during a summer
term may count towards the previous or following academic year as
determined by the board of governors.
(3) Be enrolled in an associate degree for transfer program at a
community college.
(4) Participate in the program of services outlined in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) of Section 78212, and any other regulatory
requirements adopted for implementation of the Student Success and
Support Program established in Article 1 (commencing with Section
78210) of Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7.
(e)
( d) (1) Each program established by the
trustees at a California State University campus shall be reviewed by
each campus' graduation initiative advisory committee or a committee
designated with similar functions. The committee shall ensure the
goals of the program and implementation steps lead to increasing the
campus' four-year graduation rates for students who enrolled as
first-time freshman and two-year graduation rates for community
college transfer students.
(2) The committee at each campus may develop additional
eligibility requirements to prioritize specific student populations
that have lower four-year graduation rates at the campus for those
who enroll as first-time freshman and lower two-year graduation rates
for those who enroll as community college transfer students,
including, but not limited to, all of the following student
populations:
(A) Students who receive financial aid under the federal Pell
Grant Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a) or the Cal Grant Program
established in Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part
42.
(B) Underrepresented students.
(C) First generation college students.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California
Promise program at each campus gradually scale up in order to
accommodate as many students into the program as feasible.
(f)
( e) Support provided by a California State
University campus to a student who participates in the campus'
California Promise program shall include, but not be limited to, both
of the following:
(1) Priority registration in coursework.
(2) Academic advisement that includes monitoring the student's
academic progress.
(g) Support provided by a community college campus to a student
who participates in the campus' California Promise program shall
include those services outlined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a)
of Section 78212.
(h)
( f) (1) The trustees and the board
of governors shall develop application criteria,
administrative guidelines, and additional requirements, including how
campuses will measure student success, for purposes of implementing
and administering the California Promise program.
(2) Requirements developed in accordance with paragraph (1) may
include a requirement that a student who participates in a California
Promise program maintain a minimum grade point average determined by
the student's campus.
(3) In developing requirements for the California Promise program,
the trustees and the board of governors shall
take into consideration the report on graduation rates required
pursuant to Item 6610-001-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2016.
(i)
( g) (1) The trustees shall submit a report
to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by
January 1, 2021, that includes all of the following:
(A) The total number of students participating in the program
disaggregated by individual campus and all of the following:
(i) Community college transfer students and students who enroll as
first-time freshman.
(ii) First generation college students.
(iii) Recipients of financial aid under the federal Pell Grant
Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a) or the Cal Grant Program established
in Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42.
(iv) Student ethnicity.
(B) The total number of students who graduated in four academic
years for students who enrolled as first-time freshman and two
academic years for community college transfer students, disaggregated
by individual campus and the characteristics identified in clauses
(i) to (iv), inclusive, or subparagraph (A).
(2) The trustees shall submit a report to the appropriate policy
and fiscal committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2019, that
includes the total number of the first cohort of community college
transfer students participating in the program, disaggregated by
individual campus and the characteristics listed in clauses (ii) to
(iv), inclusive, of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(3) The reports required in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall include a
summary description of significant differences regarding
implementation of the California Promise program by campus,
including, but not limited to, the prioritization of student
populations pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e)
(d) if applicable, the role of academic
advising, and the implementation of priority registration.
(j)
( h) The trustees and the board of
governors shall submit recommendations to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by March 15, 2017,
regarding potential financial incentives that can benefit students
who participate in the California Promise program, including, but not
limited to, incentives for qualifying students who are unable to
graduate within four or two academic years, as applicable, due to a
lack of course offerings.
(k)
( i) A student who participates in
the California Promise program at a community college and who
successfully completes his or her associate degree for
transfer within two academic years at a
community college shall be guaranteed participation in the
California Promise program at the California State University
transfer campus, if established.
(l)
(j) The trustees and the board of governors
shall make every effort to close the achievement gap and
encourage broad participation in a California Promise program that
reflects a participating campus' demographics.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.