BILL NUMBER: AB 2548ENROLLED BILL TEXT PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 2014 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 21, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2014 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2014 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to add Section 33318.6 to the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2548, Ting. Postsecondary education. Existing law vests specified powers and duties in the State Department of Education for purposes of the public education system. Existing law sets forth the functions and responsibilities of the California Postsecondary Education Commission in its capacity as the statewide postsecondary education planning and coordinating agency and adviser to the Legislature and the Governor. In particular, the commission is required to review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education and to make recommendations to the Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of postsecondary education. In carrying out this requirement, the commission is required to periodically conduct a study of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State University. This bill would make findings and declarations concerning the importance of university eligibility studies and noting that, since the commission ceased operations, these studies have not been conducted. The bill would require the State Department of Education to periodically conduct studies, but no more frequently than every 4 years, of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State University. The bill would require that a study be completed within 18 months from when state or nonstate funds are made available for this purpose. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) University eligibility studies are an important planning tool for the University of California and the California State University systems and help determine if the systems are drawing from their eligibility pools set by the state's Master Plan for Higher Education. University eligibility studies also reveal important trends about the state's college-ready high school populations that can help inform elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education policy. (b) University eligibility studies were previously conducted periodically by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, until the commission ceased operations in 2011. A university eligibility study has not been conducted since 2007. (c) Despite the absence of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, it is still important for the state to have measures in place to determine whether the University of California and the California State University are carrying out their goals to ensure student access and success. (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to periodically require a university eligibility study to be conducted that is similar in scope to the study formerly done by the California Postsecondary Education Commission. SEC. 2. Section 33318.6 is added to the Education Code, to read: 33318.6. The Department of Education shall periodically conduct studies of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission into the University of California and the California State University. The Department of Education shall work collaboratively with the University of California and the California State University to determine the specific role of each entity in conducting the study, ensure that work is not duplicated, and utilize existing vendors familiar with the scope of previous studies to conduct the study as efficiently as possible. The study shall be conducted no more frequently than every four years, and shall be completed within 18 months from when state or nonstate funds are made available for this purpose.