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Panel questions doubling of Rising Scholars funding; LAO seeks outcomes before expansion
Summary
The governor proposes raising the Rising Scholars Network appropriation by $30 million to $55 million and lifting the statutory cap on participating colleges. LAO said outcomes and an independent evaluation are not yet available and recommended delaying a large expansion until results are reported.
The subcommittee considered the governor's proposal to expand the Rising Scholars Network, which supports currently and formerly incarcerated students.
Justin Hurst (Department of Finance) described a $30,000,000 ongoing augmentation that would bring the program to $55,000,000 and would remove a statutory cap on participating colleges (statute currently lists up to 65 colleges). He said trailer bill language would lift that cap.
Lisa King (LAO) urged caution. She noted the recent program evaluation funded in the 2022-23 budget has not yet begun and the Chancellor's Office's mandated reporting predates state funding for Rising Scholars. "We think the legislature will be in a better position to revisit funding for Rising Scholars after it receives information on the program outcomes to date," King said. LAO recommended alternative approaches, including adding an incarcerated-student performance component to SCFF or leveraging federal Pell funding where appropriate.
Chris Ferguson (Chancellor's Office) said the program serves approximately 93 colleges supporting some 20,000 justice-impacted students (about 13,000 incarcerated students within that figure to spring 2024) and that the administration would distribute the funds to help colleges expand services and support additional sites if they opt in.
Committee members asked for timing of evaluations and for more detail on the demand and outcomes the expansion would serve. The Chancellor's Office said an RFP for evaluation work has been issued but the evaluation will likely cover a five-year period and take several years to produce systemwide outcomes. The subcommittee left the issue open for follow-up and requested outcome data for legislative review before expanding permanent funding at scale.
