Bill Text: CA SB1450 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: The California Promise.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1450 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1450-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1450 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Glazer
(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Anderson, Beall, Block, Cannella,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hertzberg, Hill, Huff,
McGuire, Mendoza, Moorlach, Roth, Stone, Vidak, and Wolk)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker , Olsen, and Weber)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
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 1450, 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, of freshman admission.
The bill would prohibit systemwide tuition charged to a California
State University student who participates in a California Promise
program for an academic year from exceeding the amount of tuition
charged to the student for the academic year of the student's
freshman admission, and would prohibit tuition of a community college
transfer student from exceeding a specified amount.
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.
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 act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Promise.
67431. 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, of the academic
year of the student's freshman admission.
67432. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) This act 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 these campuses are able to
complete associate degree programs within two academic years, and
baccalaureate degree programs within four academic years, as
applicable, 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 act should aim to reflect the demographics of their
respective campuses and target a diverse set of students. California
State University at San Bernardino's inclusion of a sizeable cohort
of underrepresented minorities in its Four-Year Graduation Pledge
program is an example of an aggressively promoted offering that
benefits a diverse set of students. More than 500 of the 614 students
participating in the Four-Year Graduation Pledge program are
underrepresented minorities.
67433. (a) The trustees and the board of governors shall develop
and implement a California Promise program that complies with this
part at one or more of their respective campuses.
(b) The trustees and the board of governors may authorize a campus
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,
of the academic year of the student's freshman admission.
(c) To be a qualifying student, 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 per academic year. Units
completed by the student during a summer term may count towards the
following academic year as determined by the trustees or the board of
governors, as applicable.
(d) Support provided by a campus to a student who participates in
the campus' California Promise program may 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.
(e) (1) The trustees and the board of governors shall develop
application criteria, administrative guidelines, and additional
requirements 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.
(f) (1) A California State University student who participates in
a California Promise program shall not be charged in systemwide
tuition for an academic year at the campus an amount that exceeds the
tuition charged to the student for the academic year of the student'
s freshman admission to a campus of the California State University.
(2) (A) A community college transfer student, who successfully
received his or her associate degree within two academic years as a
California Promise student at a community college, and who
participates in a California Promise program at the California State
University campus he or she transfers to, shall not be charged in
systemwide tuition for an academic year at the campus an amount that
exceeds the tuition charged to California State University students
at the time the student began his or her two-year associate degree
program.
(B) A community college transfer student not described in
subparagraph (A), who participates in a California Promise program at
the California State University campus he or she transfers to, shall
not be charged in systemwide tuition for an academic year at the
campus an amount that exceeds the tuition charged to the student for
the academic year of the student's admission to the campus.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate moneys from
the General Fund to the Trustees of the California State University
to fully compensate for systemwide tuition that is not charged to
students pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2).
(g) A California Promise student who cannot complete a
baccalaureate degree program within four academic years, or an
associate degree program within two academic years, as applicable, of
the academic year of the student's freshman admission because a
required course for the degree program is not offered or is full at
the campus, shall not be charged systemwide tuition or fees, as
applicable, otherwise required to register and enroll in the course,
once the course becomes available, or in a substitute course that
fulfills the graduation requirement.
(h) 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'
s demographics.
(h)
(i) For purposes of this part, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "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.
(2) "Board of governors" means the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges.
(3) "Trustees" means the Trustees of the California State
University.
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.
