BILL NUMBER: SB 412 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 436
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senators Glazer and De León
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker and Levine)
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to add and repeal Part 40.2 (commencing with Section 67430)
of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public
postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 412, Glazer. Public postsecondary education: 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 specified minimum numbers of campuses of the California State
University to establish a California Promise program by which the
campus would enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies
specified criteria to support the student in earning a baccalaureate
degree within 4 academic years, or if the student is a community
college transfer student who earned an associate degree for transfer,
within 2 academic years, of the academic year of the student's first
year of enrollment, as specified. The bill would require the
trustees to submit, by July 1, 2021, a report to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature that includes
specified information about students who participate in the program
and a summary description of significant differences in
implementation of the program by campuses. The bill would require the
trustees to submit recommendations, by March 15, 2017, to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature regarding
potential financial incentives that could benefit students who
participate in the program. The bill's provisions would be repealed
as of January 1, 2026.
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 first year of enrollment"
means the first full academic year in which a person is a student at
the California State University.
(b) "Campus" means a campus within the California State University
system as set forth in Section 89001.
(c) "Transfer student" is a student who earned an associate degree
for transfer from a California community college.
(d) "Trustees" means the Trustees of the California State
University.
67432. The California Promise is hereby established to support
California State University students in earning a baccalaureate
degree within four academic years of the student's first year of
enrollment or, for transfer students within two academic years of the
student's first year of enrollment to the campus.
67433. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) 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.
(b) Impediments students face in graduating within four academic
years include the inability to complete sufficient units per academic
year or take courses that are part of their degree programs.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California State
University system include the California Promise as a component of
the plan submitted to the Legislature and the Department of Finance
to increase graduation rates at CSU campuses above those at other
institutions and increase graduation rates for low-income students,
first-generation students, and students from underrepresented
minority groups as quickly as possible.
(h) The California Promise programs established at the California
State University in accordance with this part should aim to reflect
the demographics of their respective campuses and make the benefits
provided available on an equitable basis considering the populations
attending each campus.
67434. (a) The trustees shall develop and implement a California
Promise program that complies with this part.
(b) Commencing with the 2017-18 academic year, a minimum of eight
campuses shall have established a California Promise program by which
the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying student who is
enrolled at the campus and who is not a transfer student to support
the student in earning a baccalaureate degree within four academic
years of the academic year of the student's first year of enrollment.
(c) Commencing with the 2017-18 academic year, a minimum of 15
campuses shall have established a California Promise program by which
the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying transfer student
to support the student in earning a baccalaureate degree program
within two academic years of the student's first year of enrollment
to the campus, as applicable.
(d) Commencing with the 2018-19 academic year, a minimum of 20
campuses shall have established a California Promise program by which
the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying transfer student
to support the student in earning a baccalaureate degree within two
academic years of the student's first year of enrollment to the
campus, as applicable.
(e)To be a qualifying entering student or transfer 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) Commit to completing 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.
(f) Each College Promise program shall be reviewed by a graduation
initiative advisory committee of the campus or a committee with
similar functions designated by the president of the campus.
(g) (1) A campus shall guarantee participation in the program to,
at a minimum, any student who is any of the following:
(A) A low-income student. For purposes of this section,
"low-income student" shall have the same meaning as specified in
Section 89295.
(B) A student who has graduated from a high school located in a
community that is underrepresented in college attendance.
(C) A student who is a first-generation college student.
(D) A transfer student.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California
Promise program at each campus accommodate as many students into the
program as feasible and in consideration of available funding.
(h) Support provided by a California State University campus to a
student who participates in the California Promise program shall
include, but not necessarily be limited to, both of the following:
(1) (A) Priority registration in coursework.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, a student shall not receive
priority registration in coursework under the program if he or she
qualifies for priority registration under another policy or program,
as determined by the campus or the Office of the Chancellor of the
California State University.
(C) A graduation initiative advisory committee of the campus, or a
committee with similar functions designated by the president of the
campus, shall consider pre-existing priority registration policies
when implementing this section.
(2) Academic advisement that includes monitoring the student's
academic progress.
(i) (1) The trustees 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) As a condition of continued participation in a California
Promise program, a student may be required to demonstrate both of the
following:
(A) Completion of at least 30 semester units, or the quarter
equivalent, in each prior academic year.
(B) Attainment of a grade point average in excess of a standard
established by the campus.
(3) In implementing this part, the trustees 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.
(j) (1) The trustees shall submit a report to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2021, that
includes all of the following:
(A) The number of students participating in the program in total,
by campus, and disaggregated based on the following:
(i) Whether the student entered as a first-time freshman or a
transfer student.
(ii) Whether the student is a first-generation college student.
(iii) Whether the student is a recipient 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) According to the student's ethnicity.
(B) The total number of students who graduated in four academic
years for students who entered as first-time freshmen, and two
academic years, for students who entered as transfer students, in
total, by campus, and disaggregated based on the characteristics
identified in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive, or subparagraph (A).
(2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall include a summary
description of significant differences in the implementation of the
California Promise program at each campus.
(k) The trustees shall submit recommendations to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by March 15, 2017,
regarding potential financial incentives that could benefit students
who participate in the California Promise program.
(l) A student who successfully completes his or her associate
degree for transfer at a community college shall be guaranteed
participation in the California Promise program at the California
State University transfer campus, if established.
(m) The trustees shall make every effort to close the achievement
gap and encourage broad participation in a California Promise program
that reflects the demographic populations served by the campus.
67435. This part shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2026, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2026, deletes or extends
that date.