Community colleges: Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012.

(1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires community college district governing boards to charge students an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year. Existing law also authorizes the board of governors to waive this fee under certain circumstances related to the income status of the student. This bill would require that a student qualifying for a fee waiver meet minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, and would provide detailed requirements regarding the content, adoption, and application of those standards. (2) Existing law, known as the Seymour-Campbell Matriculation Act of 1986, defines "matriculation" as a process that brings a college and a student who enrolls for credit into an agreement for the purpose of realizing the student's educational objectives. The act specifies the matriculation services that community colleges are required to provide, including the processing of the application for admission, orientation and preorientation services, assessment and counseling upon enrollment, and postenrollment evaluation of a student's progress. This bill would revise and recast the act, and rename it the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012. The act would state its purpose as increasing California community college access and success by providing effective core matriculation services of orientation, assessment and placement, counseling, and other education planning services, and academic interventions. The bill would specify the responsibilities of students and institutions in entering into the matriculation process. The bill would require the board of governors to develop a formula for allocating funding for the Student Success and Support Program that would be implemented under the act. The bill would specify that, in the 2012–13 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, the act would be operative only if funds are specifically appropriated for its purposes. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (3) The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to review and report specified information regarding the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012 to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2014, and by July 1 of every even-numbered year thereafter, as specified. (4) 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.