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Governor signs SB 890 Early Commitment to College - Pilot program to begin in spring
(Sacramento, September 28, 2008) — Students in California will be encouraged to think about college early now that the Governor has signed the Early Commitment to College bill, known as SB 890. The program will teach students and their parents, beginning in the sixth grade, how to go to college and how to pay for it. The program packages college and financial aid opportunities into one commitment made to students at an early age.
The new law creates a voluntary program for local school districts managed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The program will be piloted this spring in several middle schools across the State and then taken to scale over the coming year.
The new program has been endorsed by a number of school districts, including Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest school district in the state with over 700,000 students.
Read the Sacramento Bee editorial published on August 6th.
The success of SB 890 has been made possible by the bi-partisan group of co-authors and growing list of over 100 bill supporters.
State Leaders, 500 Students Converge at Capitol: 'Prepare Students Now to Avoid Future Budget Woes'
(Sacramento, August 6, 2008) — The 'education pipeline' that carries students from secondary school through college is broken say business and education leaders. California will not have enough students graduating with 2-year and 4-year college degrees to meet workforce demand over the next 15 to 20 years. Read the Press Release.
Download all 9 local student profiles in PDF here, or:
Hundreds of middle and high school students along with education advocates and key state leaders converged in Sacramento on August 6th to urge lawmakers to pass SB 890 Early Commitment to College.
Winners in the "Save Me a Spot in College" scholarship contest which drew over 12,000 entries this year were honored.
Study hard and graduate from high school, and California will save you a spot in college. That's the bargain offered to middle school students in SB 890, legislation introduced by State Senator Jack Scott (D-Pasadena), Chair of the Senate Education Committee, who pledged to champion its passage.
An accompanying report, "Early College Commitment," outlines the positive benefits of the proposal for students, schools and the state. You may also download the Executive Summary for this report.
Read editorials in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee (3/11/2007) and the Sacramento Bee (8/6/2008) and the Riverside Press Enterprise supporting Early College Commitment and SB 890.
To read the most current editorials, op-eds, and news articles related to SB 890, go to our Press Room on this site.
Cumulative Impact:
New study reveals harm of past and present cuts to higher education in California
(Sacramento, April 16, 2008) — Higher education in Calfornia would suffer a second major blow in less than six years if the state adopts the sweeping cuts proposed by this year's budget. The University of California, the California State University, and the state's Community College system have not yet recovered from cuts that stemmed from the dot-com crash earlier this decade, according to this new study meant to aid lawmakers and the public as they grapple with balancing the state's budget.
AB 668 — Community College Financial Opportunity Act is signed by Governor
(Sacramento, October 10, 2007) — AB 668 (Portantino) was signed into law this fall by Governor Schwarznegger. The law will increase the number of community college students receiving state and federal financial aid.
Click here to view an AB 668 Summary.
Impending Shortage of Skilled Workers in California Highlighted by New Public Policy Institute Report
(San Francisco, May 24, 2007)- The Public Policy Institute of California warns that unless California trains and educates more skilled workers, the effects on our economy will be disastrous. The report points out the vast and unattainable numbers of highly skill immigrants the State would need to meet demand. It concludes that California needs to expand the college opportunities for those already here, particularly in those communities with lower college-going rates.
To read the breaking news about the Public Policy Institute of California report, check out the following news sources from Thursday, May 24, 2007:
100+ Prominent Leaders Urge Governor, Legislature to Make Access to College a Top Priority
(Oakland, CA)- More than a 100 respected California leaders made their voices heard today after signing on to a letter to the Governor and legislative leadership to ask them to make access to college and student success in college a major priority in the new legislative session. The letter, which appeared in ads today in the Sacramento Bee and Capitol Weekly, will be hand-delivered to lawmakers this week. Click here to see the full list of signers, the half-page ad in the Sacramento Bee, and the full-page ad in Capitol Weekly.
Want to add your name to the list?
Visit our 100 Citizens advocacy campaign and make your voice heard.
CCO Joins Ad Campaign to Promote College-Going Among Low-Income, First Generation Youth
A national advertising campaign to encourage low-income and first-generation students to take the steps necessary to attend college will soon hit the airwaves, billboards and publications in California and across the country.
KnowHow2GO (http://www.knowhow2gocalifornia.org), sponsored nationally by Lumina Foundation for Education, the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Advertising Council, will feature television and radio public service advertisements (PSAs) as well as print and outdoor advertising.
The Campaign for College Opportunity (CCO), along with the California State University, Community College League of California and Cash for College, will be carrying the campaign's message to local communities throughout California. To enhance the impact of the advertisements running in California, CCO is also launching a 25-city statewide road tour to encourage and inspire students to seek information and take action.
For more information on KnowHow2GO events in your area, please visit our Activities page or the events page on the KnowHow2GO California website. | 
