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Chancellor asks for $30 million ongoing to expand Rising Scholars program; LAO urges more outcome data before doubling funding
Summary
The Chancellor's Office seeks $30 million ongoing to expand the Rising Scholars Network for currently and formerly incarcerated students, bringing total state support to $55 million. The LAO said the state lacks sufficient outcome and evaluation data and recommended waiting for an evaluation before increasing ongoing funding.
The Senate subcommittee heard competing perspectives about expanding the Rising Scholars Network, a community‑college program that serves currently incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students.
"The governor's budget proposes for our system a $30,000,000 ongoing augmentation to support the Rising Scholars Network program," said Chris Ferguson, Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Strategic Initiatives. Ferguson said the network supports education programs in correctional facilities and county juvenile systems and that the program has grown substantially since 2021.
Program scale and request
- Ferguson said there are roughly 93 Rising Scholars programs in operation; 80 are grant funded, 15 of those are temporarily funded and 13 are non‑grant funded. He said program headcount has increased by roughly 28.4% to about 20,000 enrolled (spring 2024) and juvenile justice enrollments reached about 1,400 spring 2024. The governor's $30 million ongoing augmentation would bring total state funding for the network to about $55 million.
Analysts' concerns about evidence
Lisa King of the Legislative Analyst's Office said while the state sees clear benefits to increasing support, it lacks sufficient outcome data. The LAO noted that the most recent Chancellor's Office biennial report predates the bulk of state funding for Rising Scholars and that a $750,000 evaluation funded in 2022–23 has not yet been completed. The LAO recommended the Legislature review evaluation findings and outcomes on completion and course success before significantly increasing ongoing funding.
Alternative options discussed
The LAO suggested two alternatives to an immediate doubling of ongoing state funding: (1) modify the SCFF success allocation to include performance components for incarcerated students, creating incentives for districts to serve this student group; or (2) leverage federal Pell Grant changes to fund certain coursework for incarcerated students and redirect state funds to other support activities.
Quotations
"We know that these students are completing the programs, they are graduating, they are receiving certificates and degrees," Ferguson said, explaining the program's expansion and reported completion trends.
Next steps
The Chancellor's Office said it is developing the evaluation RFP and that the evaluation is expected to span multiple years; LAO and lawmakers signaled they would prefer outcome data to help guide any large, ongoing funding increase.
