Today's Law As Amended


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AB-595 Public postsecondary education: University of California and California State University: student eligibility policy.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 66205.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66205.4.
 (a) Before adopting a change in undergraduate student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements that impact students across its segment, the Trustees of the California State University shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, do all of the following:
(1) Engage in public discussions with and coordinate with the other educational segments that will be impacted by the policy to understand the impacts of the policy, including, but not necessarily limited to, the State Department of Education and school districts, in order to try to align preparation and their respective student eligibility policies. It is the intent of the Legislature that there be a common set of clear state public university eligibility requirements for public school pupils.
(2) Commission an independent study by a third-party research organization to assess whether the change in student eligibility policy under consideration would have a disparate impact on the eligibility rates of the California graduates of public secondary schools who are members of underrepresented student groups. Specifically, the study shall examine the impact on eligibility and admission rates of all high school graduates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, and region, and examine the capacity of and resources needed by the educational segments affected to make the necessary changes and investments to deliver on the policy change. This study and its findings shall be made publicly available. It is the intent of the Legislature that the segments should not pursue student eligibility policies that would have such a disparate impact.
(3) Present the policy change and the independent study assessing the impact of the change in student eligibility policy to the Legislature by way of the chairs of the appropriate policy committees with jurisdiction no less than 60 days before the scheduled vote on the policy change.
(b) If, on or after the operative date of the act that adds this section, either the Trustees of the California State University or the Regents of the University of California approve a change in student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements that impact students across their segment, the trustees shall, and the regents are requested to, do both of the following:
(1) (A) Convene an implementation committee that shall develop a multiyear plan for that segment to work in partnership with the public elementary and secondary school system, the California Community Colleges, and the governing body of the other segment to implement the change. The implementation committee shall meet publicly. In composing this implementation committee, the trustees or the regents, as appropriate, should consider, but are not limited to, selecting the following:
(i) A faculty representative from any relevant postsecondary segment.
(ii) A teacher from a public elementary or high school.
(iii) A school district administrator or an administrator of a public elementary or high school.
(iv) A school district superintendent.
(v) A member of a school district governing board or a county board of education.
(vi) A high school pupil.
(vii) A student attending a postsecondary educational institution.
(viii) A representative of a nonpartisan research organization.
(ix) Two representatives from an external stakeholder organization with expertise in issues relating to racial equity in elementary and secondary education or higher education.
(B) When selecting members of the implementation committee, the trustees or the regents, as appropriate, shall give careful consideration to ensuring that at least one-third of the implementation committee is composed of individuals from either a Title I school or a rural region, or both.
(2) Each academic year between the approval of the change in student eligibility policy by the trustees or the regents and the effective date of that policy change, the implementation committee established under this subdivision shall provide annual progress reports to the Governor, the Legislature, and the governing bodies of the two segments. The report to the Legislature shall comply with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The implementation committee shall also commission an analysis of the policy after it has been adopted and fully implemented in order to understand the ongoing impact of the policy on eligibility and admission rates of all high school graduates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, and region.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) “New eligibility requirement” does not include an existing eligibility requirement that meets any of the following:
(A) Is mandated under or established pursuant to existing law.
(B) Has been removed or revised.
(C) Applies to enrollment categories designated in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 66202.
(2) “Segment” means the California State University or the University of California.