(a) The sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Superintendent for transfer by the Controller to Section A of the State School Fund for allocation by the Superintendent to establish the College Readiness Block Grant in the manner and for the purposes set forth in this section.
(b) The College Readiness Block Grant is hereby established for the purposes of providing California’s high school pupils, particularly unduplicated pupils as defined in Sections 42238.01 and 42238.02, additional supports to increase the number who enroll at institutions of higher education and complete an undergraduate degree within four years.
(c) The Superintendent shall allocate an equal amount per unduplicated pupil enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, during the 2015–16 fiscal year to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. No school district, county office of education, or charter school serving at least one unduplicated pupil in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, during the 2015–16 fiscal year shall receive a total allocation of less than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000). A school district, county office of education, or charter school shall be eligible for an allocation pursuant to this subdivision only for unduplicated pupils, as defined in Sections 42238.01 and 42238.02, attending a school that is currently accredited or in the process of obtaining accreditation from the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges. These funds are available for expenditure or encumbrance through the 2018–19 fiscal year.
(d) Block grant funds apportioned to eligible local educational agencies shall be used for activities that directly support pupil access and successful matriculation to institutions of higher education. Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Providing teachers, administrators, and counselors with professional development opportunities to improve pupil A–G course completion rates, pupil college-going rates, and college readiness of pupils, including providing for the development of honors and Advanced Placement courses.
(2) Beginning or increasing counseling services to pupils and their families regarding college admission requirements and financial aid programs.
(3) Developing or purchasing materials that support college readiness, including materials that support high performance on assessments required for admittance to a postsecondary educational institution.
(4) Developing comprehensive advising plans to support pupil completion of A–G course requirements.
(5) Implementing collaborative partnerships between high schools and postsecondary educational institutions that support pupil transition to postsecondary education, including, but not limited to, strengthening existing partnerships with the University of California and the California State University to establish early academic outreach and college preparatory programs.
(6) Providing subsidies to unduplicated pupils, as defined in Sections 42238.01 and 42238.02, to pay fees for taking Advanced Placement examinations.
(7) Expanding access to coursework or other opportunities to satisfy A–G course requirements to all pupils, including, but not necessarily limited to, pupils enrolled in schools identified by the department as high schools with 75 percent or greater enrollment of unduplicated pupils, pursuant to subdivision (g). These opportunities may include, but shall not be limited to, new or expanded partnerships with other secondary or postsecondary educational institutions.
(e) As a condition for receiving funds under this article, a school district, county office of education, or charter school shall develop a plan describing how the funds will increase or improve services for unduplicated pupils to ensure college readiness. The plan shall include information regarding how it aligns with the school district’s local control and accountability plan required pursuant to Section 52060, the county superintendent of schools’ local control and accountability plan required pursuant to Section 52066, or the charter school’s local control and accountability plan required pursuant to Section 47605 or 47605.6 and Section 47606.5. The plan shall also include a description of the extent to which all pupils within the school district, county office of education, or charter school, particularly unduplicated pupils, as defined in Sections 42238.01 and 42238.02, will have access to A–G courses approved by the University of California. In order to ensure community and stakeholder input, the plan shall be discussed at a regularly scheduled meeting by the governing board of the school district, county board of education, or governing body of the charter school and adopted at a subsequent regularly scheduled meeting.
(f) As a condition for receiving funds under this article, grant recipients shall report to the Superintendent by January 1, 2017, on how they will measure the impact of the funds received on their unduplicated pupils’ access and successful matriculation to institutions of higher education, as identified within their plan. The department shall compile the information reported pursuant to this subdivision and submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before April 30, 2017, and shall update the state board on the contents of that report at a regularly scheduled meeting of the state board.
(g) The Superintendent shall annually post on the department’s Internet Web site a list of each school with a percentage of unduplicated pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, of at least 75 percent of the school’s total enrollment in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
(h) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriations made by subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2015–16 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2015–16 fiscal year.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 561, Sec. 31. (AB 1516) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018