Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as the 2 segments of public postsecondary education in the state generally authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees. The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by appropriate resolution, to make those provisions applicable. A provision of the act expresses the intent of the Legislature that, in determining the standards and criteria for undergraduate and graduate admissions to the University of California and the California State University, the governing bodies of the segments develop processes that, among other things, strive to be fair and are easily understandable.

This bill would require the trustees, and request the regents, before adopting a change in undergraduate student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements, as described, that impact students across its segment, to engage in public discussions with and coordinate with other educational segments that will be impacted by the policy to understand the impacts of the policy in order to try to align preparation and their respective student eligibility policies. The bill would also require the trustees, and request the regents, to commission an independent study by a third-party research organization to assess the impact of the change in student eligibility policy on the eligibility rates of the graduates of public secondary schools who are members of underrepresented student groups, and specifically examine the impact on eligibility and admission rates of all high school graduates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, and region.

The bill would also require, or request, as applicable, if either the trustees or the regents approve a change in student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements that impact students across its segment, that an implementation committee, that meets publicly and with members selected as designated, be convened to develop a multiyear plan for that segment to work with the public elementary and secondary school system, the California Community Colleges, and the governing body of the other segment to implement the change, and would require in those circumstances the implementation committee to provide annual progress reports to the Governor, the Legislature, and the governing bodies of the two segments, as specified.