AB 801: Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2016-09-21
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would delete the repeal date of, and thereby extend indefinitely, the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California. The bill would extend that priority requirement, and that request, to include homeless youth until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(4)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add persons who are, at the time of enrollment, homeless youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5)This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 906, to be operative only if SB 906 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
(6)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would delete the repeal date of, and thereby extend indefinitely, the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California. The bill would extend that priority requirement, and that request, to include homeless youth until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(4)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add persons who are, at the time of enrollment, homeless youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5)This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 906, to be operative only if SB 906 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
(6)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would delete the repeal date of, and thereby extend indefinitely, the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and would extend the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California, to include homeless youth, as defined, and extend the operation of this provision California. The bill would extend that priority requirement, and that request, to include homeless youth until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution, institution whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, Liaison and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households, households and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(4)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add persons who are, at the time of enrollment, homeless youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5)This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 906, to be operative only if SB 906 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
(5)
(6)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would extend the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and would extend the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California, to include homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, and extend the operation of this provision until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution, whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households, and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(4)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add persons who are, at the time of enrollment, homeless youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 76300 of the Education Code proposed by AB 573 that would become operative if this bill and AB 573 are both enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(6)
(5)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would extend the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and would extend the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California, to include homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, and extend the operation of this provision until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution, whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households, and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(4)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add persons who are, at the time of enrollment, homeless youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 76300 of the Education Code proposed by AB 573 that would become operative if this bill and AB 573 are both enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(5)
(6)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would extend the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and would extend the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California, to include homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, and extend the operation of this provision until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution, whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes standards relating to the determination of a students residence for purposes of setting the amount of tuition and fees that are owed by that student. Existing law provides that a student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment, and who is currently a dependent or ward of the state through Californias child welfare system, or was formerly served by Californias child welfare system, as specified, may be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident.
This bill would additionally provide that a student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment shall be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if it is verified that he or she has been determined at any time during the 2 years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless, as defined. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(4)
(3)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households, and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(5)
(4)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add a person who is, persons who are, at the time of enrollment, a homeless youth or former homeless youth, youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(6)
(5)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would extend the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and would extend the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California, to include homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, and extend the existence operation of this provision until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution, whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison staff member who is employed within the institutions financial aid office office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes standards relating to the determination of a students residence for purposes of setting the amount of tuition and fees that are owed by that student. Existing law provides that a student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment, and who is currently a dependent or ward of the state through Californias child welfare system, or was formerly served by Californias child welfare system, as specified, may be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident.
This bill would additionally provide that a student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment may shall be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if it is verified that he or she has been determined at any time during the 2 years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless, as defined. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(4)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households, and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(5)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add a person who is, at the time of enrollment, a homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(6)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.
(1)Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would extend the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and would extend the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California, to include homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, and extend the existence of this provision until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a qualifying institution, whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison within the institutions financial aid office and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3)Existing law establishes standards relating to the determination of a students residence for purposes of setting the amount of tuition and fees that are owed by that student. Existing law provides that a student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment, and who is currently a dependent or ward of the state through Californias child welfare system, or was formerly served by Californias child welfare system, as specified, may be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident.
This bill would additionally provide that a student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment may be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if he or she has been determined at any time during the 2 years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless, as defined. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(4)Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households, and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(5)Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add a person who is, at the time of enrollment, a homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(6)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.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or, until January 1, 2020, a homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
SEC. 2.5.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or, until January 1, 2020, homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth and former foster youth means a person in California whose dependency was established or continued by the court on or after the youths 16th birthday and who is no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of the academic year.
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and homeless youth, including unaccompanied homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth and former foster youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 5.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 6.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 7.Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 66025.9 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 906. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, (2) each bill amends Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 906, in which case Section 2 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 8.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or, until January 1, 2020, a homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
SEC. 2.5.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or, until January 1, 2020, homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth and former foster youth means a person in California whose dependency was established or continued by the court on or after the youths 16th birthday and who is no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of the academic year.
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and homeless youth, including unaccompanied homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth and former foster youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 5.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 6.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 7.Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 66025.9 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 906. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, (2) each bill amends Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 906, in which case Section 2 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 8.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or or, until January 1, 2020, a homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 2.5.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth. youth or, until January 1, 2020, homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section, foster section:
(1)Foster youth and former foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is up to 24 years of age. in California whose dependency was established or continued by the court on or after the youths 16th birthday and who is no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of the academic year.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and homeless youth, including unaccompanied homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth and former foster youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 5.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 6.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 7.Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 66025.9 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 906. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, (2) each bill amends Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 906, in which case Section 2 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 7.SEC. 8.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or a homeless youth or former homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)(A)Homeless has the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a), as it read on December 31, 2015.
(B)Homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year, and former homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following:
(2)Homeless youth means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
(c)
(d)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied homeless youth, including unaccompanied homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth and former foster youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 5.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 6.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 6.5.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets at least one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in Section 66025.9.
(v)Was enrolled at a California campus of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution, was unable to complete an education program offered by the campus due to the campuss closure on April 27, 2015, and has demonstrated financial need, as determined by the enrolling campus. This clause shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018.
(vi)Was enrolled at a California campus of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution, withdrew from an education program offered by the campus after the earlier of either (1) 120 days before the April 27, 2015, closure, or an earlier date as may be determined by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education pursuant to Section 94923, or (2) the date set by the United States Department of Education for closed school loan discharge eligibility, and has demonstrated financial need, as determined by the enrolling campus. This clause shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 7.Section 6.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 76300 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 573. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, (2) each bill amends Section 76300 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 573, in which case Section 6 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 8.SEC. 7.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or a homeless youth or former homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)(A)Homeless has the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a), as it read on December 31, 2015.
(B)Homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year, and former homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth in Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 5.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 6.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 6.5. Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets at least one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in Section 66025.9.
(v)Was enrolled at a California campus of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution, was unable to complete an education program offered by the campus due to the campuss closure on April 27, 2015, and has demonstrated financial need, as determined by the enrolling campus. This clause shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018.
(vi)Was enrolled at a California campus of a Corinthian Colleges, Inc., institution, withdrew from an education program offered by the campus after the earlier of either (1) 120 days before the April 27, 2015, closure, or an earlier date as may be determined by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education pursuant to Section 94923, or (2) the date set by the United States Department of Education for closed school loan discharge eligibility, and has demonstrated financial need, as determined by the enrolling campus. This clause shall become inoperative on July 1, 2018.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 7.Section 6.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 76300 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 573. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, (2) each bill amends Section 76300 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 573, in which case Section 6 of this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 7.SEC. 8.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or a homeless youth or former homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)(A)Homeless has the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a), as it read on December 31, 2015.
(B)Homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year, and former homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied homeless youth and former homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth, and former homeless youth in Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 68084.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:68084.5.A student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment shall be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if it is verified that he or she has been determined at any time during the two years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless as that term is defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
SEC. 5.SEC. 4.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 6.SEC. 5.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 7.SEC. 6.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth or former homeless youth as defined in Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 8.SEC. 7.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or a homeless youth or former homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2)(A)Homeless has the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a), as it read on December 31, 2015.
(B)Homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year, and former homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison a staff member who is employed within the institutions financial aid office. office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to independent student status and financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied homeless youth and former homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid. aid and available services.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, homeless youth, and former homeless youth in Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 68084.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:68084.5.A student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment may shall be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if it is verified that he or she has been determined at any time during the two years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless as that term is defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
SEC. 5.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 6.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 7.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth or former homeless youth as defined in Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 8.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
SEC. 2.Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:66025.9.(a)The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or a homeless youth or former homeless youth.
(b)For purposes of this section, foster section:
(1)Foster youth means a person who is currently in foster care, and former foster youth means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is up to 24 years of age or younger.
(2)(A)Homeless has the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a), as it read on December 31, 2015.
(B)Homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year, and former homeless youth means a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following:
(i)A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii)The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii)A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3.Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:67003.5.(a)A postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution, as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1)Designate a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison within the institutions financial aid office. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to independent student status and financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied homeless youth and former homeless youth, and shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid.
(2)Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b)The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c)The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, homeless youth, and former homeless youth in Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
SEC. 4.Section 68084.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:68084.5.A student who currently resides in California and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment may be entitled to resident classification until he or she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if he or she has been determined at any time during the two years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless as that term is defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
SEC. 5.Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69514.5.(a)The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1)Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2)Foster youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(3)Homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(3)
(4)Students with disabilities.
(b)The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c)The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
SEC. 6.Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:69561.(a)The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b)The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1)Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2)Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3)Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4)Pupils who are homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined in Section 66025.9.
(c)These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1)Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2)Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d)Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e)Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f)Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g)Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1)A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2)A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h)The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i)The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j)Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1)The agencies participating in the project.
(2)The pupils to be served by the project.
(3)The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4)The methods for assessing the projects impact.
(k)Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l)Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m)At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1)Work with secondary school pupils.
(2)Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3)Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n)Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
SEC. 7.Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.(a)The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b)(1)The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2)The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c)For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d)The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e)The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1)Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2)California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3)Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f)The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g)(1)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A)Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B)Meets one of the following criteria:
(i)At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii)Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii)Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv)At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth or former homeless youth as defined in Section 66025.9.
(2)(A)The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i)Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii)Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii)A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B)To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4)It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A)Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B)Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C)A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5)The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B)How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C)The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. Active service of the state, for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j)The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1)The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2)The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k)A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l)(1)Dependent, for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2)A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3)A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4)A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m)(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2)From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 199293 fiscal year.
(n)The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o)This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
SEC. 8.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2016 | Ordered to second reading. |
| Sep 8, 2015 | Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Leno. |
| Apr 28, 2016 | From inactive file. |
| Apr 28, 2016 | Ordered to second reading. |
| May 2, 2016 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 9, 2016 | Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| May 10, 2016 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Jun 6, 2016 | Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Leno. |
| Aug 17, 2016 | From inactive file. |
| Sep 4, 2015 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 17, 2016 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| Aug 18, 2016 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 23, 2016 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Aug 23, 2016 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 36. Noes 1. Page 5306.). |
| Aug 24, 2016 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 26 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77. |
| Aug 29, 2016 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Aug 29, 2016 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 66. Noes 13. Page 6385.). |
| Sep 2, 2016 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 12 p.m. |
| Jun 2, 2015 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Feb 27, 2015 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 29. |
| Mar 12, 2015 | Referred to Coms. on HIGHER ED. and HUM. S. |
| Apr 22, 2015 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HUM. S. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on HUM. S. |
| Apr 29, 2015 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (April 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| May 20, 2015 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file. |
| May 20, 2015 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| May 28, 2015 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 3.) (May 28). |
| Jun 1, 2015 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| Feb 26, 2015 | Read first time. To print. |
| Jun 3, 2015 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| Jun 3, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 61. Noes 13. Page 1843.) |
| Jun 18, 2015 | Referred to Com. on ED. |
| Jul 8, 2015 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Aug 17, 2015 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Aug 31, 2015 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (August 27). |
| Sep 1, 2015 | Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading. |
| Sep 3, 2015 | Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2016 | AB 801 BLOOM Concurrence in Senate Amendments | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 23, 2016 | Assembly 3rd Reading AB801 Bloom By Leno | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 27, 2015 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Aug 17, 2015 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jul 8, 2015 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Education |
Passed |
|
| Jun 3, 2015 | AB 801 BLOOM Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 28, 2015 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 28, 2015 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Human Services |
Passed |
|
| Apr 21, 2015 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Human Services] | Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| ASPIRANET | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| Bill Wilson Center | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| Cal State Long Beach | * Indeterminate | Apr 21, 2015 |
| California Coalition For Youth | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| California Federation Of Teachers | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| CalState Student Association | * Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| Campaign For College Opportunity | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| Children's Hospital of Los Angeles | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| County Welfare Directors Association of California | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| Echoes of Hope | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| FACCC | * Indeterminate | Apr 21, 2015 |
| Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| Housing California | ** Support | Apr 21, 2015 |
| Junior League of Orange County | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
| National Center for Youth Law | ** Support | Apr 21, 2015 |
| Tubman House | * Indeterminate | Apr 21, 2015 |
| u None received. | ** Against | Jul 8, 2015 |
| University of California | ** Support | Jul 8, 2015 |
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
CSA1 Bill Id:AB 801
Author:(Bloom)
As Amended Ver:August 17, 2016
Majority vote
ASSEMBLY: | 61-13 | (June 3, 2015) | SENATE: | 36-1 | (August 23, 2016) |
Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY: Enacts the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
The Senate amendments:
- Update the definition of homeless youth to align with the federal definition.
- Specify that a student who is verified as a homeless youth, as defined, shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
- Eliminate the residency determination entitlement to students who have been determined to be homeless anytime during the prior two years, as specified.
- Require the California State University (CSU) and each community college district (CCD) and request the University of California (UC), until January 1, 2020, to grant priority registration for enrollment to a homeless youth.
- Double-joint this measure to Senate Bill 906 (Beall) of the current legislative session.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each CCD and requests the UC, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth (Education Code (EC) Section 66025.9).
- Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, which, among other things, provides financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a California Community College (CCC). The training addresses the specific needs of all of the following: a) CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education; b) foster youth; and, c) students with disabilities (EC Section 69514.5).
- Authorizes, the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) as the administrators of the Student Opportunity and Access Program, to apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils: a) pupils who are from low-income families; b) pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college; and, c) pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates (EC Section 69561).
- Waives the $46 per unit per semester from certain CCC students if, after meeting minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the CCC Board of Governors (BOG), meet one of the following criteria: a) at the time of enrollment are recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program; b) demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC BOG; c) demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid; d) at the time of enrollment is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state; e) any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who qualified for the fee waiver; and, f) any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements, as specified, and either of the following applies: i) the dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001; and, ii) the individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001 (EC Section 76300).
FEDERAL LAW: Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; 2) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; 3) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; 4) are abandoned in hospitals; 5) are awaiting foster care placement; 6) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, 7) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings (42 United States Code Section 11301, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- The CSU indicates the need redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million (General Fund).
- Likely minor costs to the CCC to update the BOG Fee Waiver form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify based on income criteria (Proposition 98).
- The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources.
- The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
COMMENTS: Background. According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), college homelessness is a serious issue that is often overlooked; there exists an assumption that if someone is homeless, he/she is so focused on basic needs like food and shelter that school is not a concern. However, NAEHCY contends that for homeless youth, education is the answer to providing homeless youth means to be able to enter into the work force, earn a living, and no longer be homeless.
To note, there is no concrete estimate for the number of homeless college students nationwide, but 58,158 college applicants indicated that they were homeless on federal financial aid forms for the 2012-13 academic year (most recent data available to date); which, according to NAEHCY, is up 8% from 53,705 in the previous year, according to federal data. NAEHCY argues that the number is likely understated, since some students may be staying in a car, relatives' or fellow classmates' couches, or motels, and do not realize they are technically homeless, or do not want to admit to it. Additionally, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (4% in California vs. 2% nationally).
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year, in California, there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied. The author contends that the data indicates that many homeless youth are not matriculating into higher education and/or are not receiving the financial aid to which they are entitled. The author states, "This bill seeks to address state barriers to financial assistance for homeless youth." This measure will also bring parity among current and former homeless youth to that of current and former foster youth, who already receive some exemptions and waivers in current law (e. g. priority enrollment status).
Analysis Prepared by: Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0004910
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 801
:
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Liu, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
DIGEST: This bill extends priority enrollment to homeless youth, as defined, at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension; requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison at each postsecondary educational institution participating in the Cal Grant program; and adds homeless youth to the categories of youth to be served under existing financial aid programs and services.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/17/16 add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering issues with SB 906 (Beall).
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/9/16 authorize designation as a homeless youth for students designated two years prior to, and up to six years after, admission to a higher education institution, eliminate references to “former homeless youth”, delete the requirement that homeless youth and former Corinthian Colleges, Inc. students be granted a Board of Governors fee waiver, and make other technical changes.
Existing federal law:
- Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; b) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; c) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; d) are abandoned in hospitals; e) are awaiting foster care placement; f) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, g) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. (42 United States Code § 11301, et seq.)
- Defines ‘homeless youth,” under Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Existing state law:
- Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each community college district, and requests each campus of the UC that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth. (Education Code § 66025.9)
- Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a CCC. The training is required to address the specific needs of CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution, foster youth, and students with disabilities. (EC § 69514.5)
- Establishes the Student Opportunity and Access Program, administered and supported by CSAC, to apportion funds, as specified for projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for elementary and secondary school pupils who are from low-income families, who would be the first in their families to attend college, and who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates. (EC § 69561)
- Requires a community college governing board to charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing law makes this fee requirement inapplicable to noncredit courses and specified student groups and authorizes the governing board to exempt certain student groups from this fee. Existing law specifically requires that these fees be waived for students who, at the time of enrollment meet specified requirements, including, that they are members of the military, veterans or their dependents, as specified, receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program, demonstrate eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC Board of Governors, demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state and various others, as specified. (EC § 76300)
This bill:
- Requires the CSU and each CCC, and requests each UC campus that administers a priority enrollment system, to extend priority enrollment to current homeless youth.
- Defines "homeless youth" under the Act established by the bill. Specifically, it:
- Defines homeless youth as a student under 25 years of age verified as homeless within 24 months immediately preceding receipt of his/her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution, as specified and defined pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
- Assigns retention of status as a “homeless youth” for six years from the date of admission to a postsecondary educational institution.
- Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined for purposes of the Cal Grant program, to both:
- Designate an existing staff member within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison who is required to be responsible for understanding the federal Higher Education provisions on financial aid eligibility applicable to foster youth and homeless youth, as specified, and to assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and services.
- Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act.
- Requests the UC Regents adopt policies, to the extent feasible, equivalent to the provisions outlined in 3) above.
- Expands the training requirements for high school and community college counselors and advisors under the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training on the specific needs of current homeless youth, as defined.
- Adds homeless youth, as defined, to the student groups that may be served under Student Opportunity and Access Program projects administered and supported by the CSAC.
- Makes other clarifying, technical, and conforming changes.
- Includes double-jointing language to avoid chaptering issues with SB 906 (Beall).
Comments
Need for the bill. This bill allows homeless youth to receive some of the same services and exemptions that are available to foster youth. While many services exist for foster youth and former foster youth, homeless youth are often not documented in the child welfare system or legally identified as dependents, so most are either unable to utilize these benefits or unaware of programs for which they may qualify. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied.
Other services for homeless youth. SB 1023 (Liu, Chapter 771, Statutes of 2014) authorized the CCC Chancellor’s Office to enter into agreements with up to 10 CCC districts to establish the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support program in order to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. The 2015-16 Budget Act provides up to $15 million for this purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CSU indicates the need to redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million. There are likely minor costs to the CCC to update the Board of Governors Fee Waiver form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify based on income criteria. The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources. The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/18/16)
None received
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harper, Maienschein, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Chang, Gallagher, Jones, Kim, Mayes
8/22/16 9:39:41
**** END ****
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 801
:
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Liu, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
DIGEST: This bill requires the extension of priority enrollment, as specified, to homeless youth, as defined, at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension; requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison at each Cal Grant participating institution; grants homeless youth enrolling in a public higher education institution residency status, as specified; and adds homeless youth to the categories of youth to be served under existing financial aid programs and services.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/9/16 authorize designation as a homeless youth for students designated two years prior to, and up to six years after, admission to a higher education institution, eliminate references to “former homeless youth”, delete the requirement that homeless youth and former Corinthian Colleges, Inc. students be granted a Board of Governors fee waiver, and make other technical changes.
Existing federal law:
- Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; b) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; c) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; d) are abandoned in hospitals; e) are awaiting foster care placement; f) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, g) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. (42 United States Code § 11301, et seq.)
- Defines "homeless youth", under Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Existing state law:
- Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each community college district, and requests each campus of the UC that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth. (Education Code § 66025.9)
- Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a CCC. The training is required to address the specific needs of CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution, foster youth, and students with disabilities. (EC § 69514.5)
- Establishes the Student Opportunity and Access Program, administered and supported by CSAC, to apportion funds, as specified for projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for elementary and secondary school pupils who are from low-income families, who would be the first in their families to attend college, and who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates. (EC § 69561)
- Requires a community college governing board to charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing law makes this fee requirement inapplicable to noncredit courses and specified student groups and authorizes the governing board to exempt certain student groups from this fee. Existing law specifically requires that these fees be waived for students who, at the time of enrollment meet specified requirements, including, that they are members of the military, veterans or their dependents, as specified, receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program, demonstrate eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC Board of Governors, demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state and various others, as specified. (EC § 76300)
This bill:
- Requires the CSU and each CCC, and requests each UC campus that administers a priority enrollment system, to extend priority enrollment to current homeless youth.
- Defines "homeless youth" under the Act established by the bill. Specifically, it:
- Defines homeless youth as a student under 25 years of age verified as homeless within 24 months immediately preceding receipt of his/her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution, as specified and defined pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (see Background).
- Assigns retention of status as a “homeless youth” for six years from the date of admission to a postsecondary educational institution.
- Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined for purposes of the Cal Grant program, to both:
- Designate an existing staff member within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison who is required to be responsible for understanding the federal Higher Education provisions on financial aid eligibility applicable to foster youth and homeless youth, as specified, and to assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and services.
- Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act.
- Requests the UC Regents adopt policies, to the extent feasible, equivalent to the provisions outlined in 3) above.
- Expands the training requirements for high school and community college counselors and advisors under the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training on the specific needs of current homeless youth, as defined.
- Adds homeless youth, as defined, to the student groups that may be served under Student Opportunity and Access Program projects administered and supported by the CSAC.
- Makes other clarifying, technical, and conforming changes.
Comments
- Need for this bill. This bill allows homeless youth to receive some of the same services and exemptions that are available to foster youth. While many services exist for foster youth and former foster youth, homeless youth are often not documented in the child welfare system or legally identified as dependents, so most are either unable to utilize these benefits or unaware of programs for which they may qualify. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied.
- Homeless youth. According to a September 2014 publication by the California Homeless Youth Project, California’s Homeless Students, a Growing Population, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (four percent in California versus two percent nationally). In its 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports an estimated 46,924 homeless youths nationally on a single night in January, with 80 percent of these individuals between the ages of 18-24.
- Other services for homeless youth. SB 1023 (Liu, Chapter 771, Statutes of 2014) authorized the CCC Chancellor’s Office to enter into agreements with up to 10 CCC districts to establish the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support program in order to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. The 2015-16 Budget Act provides up to $15 million for this purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CSU indicates the need to redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million. There are likely minor costs to the CCC to update the Board of Governors Fee Waiver form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify based on income criteria. The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources. The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/10/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harper, Maienschein, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Chang, Gallagher, Jones, Kim, Mayes
5/11/16 15:12:41
**** END ****
AB 801
Page 7
|
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 801
Amended: 9/3/15 in Senate
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Liu, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act
DIGEST: This bill requires the extension of priority enrollment, as specified, to homeless youth or former homeless youth at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension; requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison at each Cal Grant participating institution; grants homeless youth enrolling in a public higher education institution residency status, as specified; requires the waiver of per unit fees for a homeless youth or former homeless youth at the community colleges; and adds homeless youth to the categories of youth to be served under existing financial aid programs and services.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/15 address potential chaptering conflicts between this bill and AB 573 (Medina), in the event that both bills are enacted, by incorporating provisions that establish eligibility for a community college Board of Governor’s fee waiver for former Corinthian College students who meet specified criteria and demonstrate financial need, as determined by the enrolling campus.
Existing federal law:
Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; b) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; c) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; d) are abandoned in hospitals; e) are awaiting foster care placement; f) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, g) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. (42 United States Code § 11301, et seq.)
Defines "homeless youth", under Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Existing state law:
Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each community college district, and requests each campus of the UC that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth. (Education Code § 66025.9)
Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a CCC. The training is required to address the specific needs of CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution, foster youth, and students with disabilities. (EC § 69514.5)
Establishes the Student Opportunity and Access Program, administered and supported by CSAC, to apportion funds, as specified for projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for elementary and secondary school pupils who are from low-income families, who would be the first in their families to attend college, and who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates. (EC § 69561)
Requires a community college governing board to charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing law makes this fee requirement inapplicable to noncredit courses and specified student groups and authorizes the governing board to exempt certain student groups from this fee. Existing law specifically requires that these fees be waived for students who, at the time of enrollment meet specified requirements, including, that they are members of the military, veterans or their dependents, as specified, receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program, demonstrate eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC Board of Governors, demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state and various others, as specified. (EC § 76300)
This bill:
Requires the CSU and each CCC, and requests each UC campus that administers a priority enrollment system, to extend priority enrollment to current homeless youth.
Defines “homeless” and "homeless youth" as having the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (see background).
Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined for purposes of the Cal Grant program, to both:
Designate an existing staff member within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison who is required to be responsible for understanding the federal Higher Education provisions on financial aid eligibility applicable to foster youth and homeless youth, as specified, and to assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and services.
Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act.
Requests the UC Regents adopt policies, to the extent feasible, equivalent to the provisions outlined in 3) above.
Expands the training requirements for high school and community college counselors and advisors under the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training on the specific needs of current homeless youth, as defined.
Adds homeless youth, as defined, to the student groups that may be served under Student Opportunity and Access Program projects administered and supported by the CSAC.
Expands the list of students whose fees are required to be waived by a community college governing board to include any student who is a current homeless youth, as defined, at the time of enrollment.
Expands, in the event that both this bill and AB 573 (Medina) are enacted, the list of students whose fees are required to be waived by a community college governing board to include:
Any student who is a current homeless youth, as defined, at the time of enrollment.
Until July 1, 2018:
Any student who was enrolled at a California campus of a Corinthian Colleges Incorporated (CCI) institution, was unable to complete an educational program offered by the campus due to the campus’ closure on April 27, 2015, and has demonstrated financial need as determined by the enrolling campus,.
Any student who was enrolled at a California campus of a CCI institution, withdrew from an education program offered by the campus after the earlier of either: 120 days before the April 27, 2015 closure or an earlier date determined by the Bureau, or the date set by the United States Department of Education for closed school loan discharge eligibility and has demonstrated financial need as determined by the enrolling campus.
Makes other clarifying, technical, and conforming changes.
Comments
Need for this bill. This bill allows homeless youth to receive some of the same services and exemptions that are available to foster youth. While many services exist for foster youth and former foster youth, homeless youth are often not documented in the child welfare system or legally identified as dependents, so most are either unable to utilize these benefits or unaware of programs for which they may qualify. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied.
Homeless youth. According to a September 2014 publication by the California Homeless Youth Project, California’s Homeless Students, a Growing Population, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (four percent in California versus two percent nationally). In its 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports an estimated 46,924 homeless youths nationally on a single night in January, with 80 percent of these individuals between the ages of 18-24.
Other services for homeless youth. SB 1023 (Liu, Chapter 771, Statutes of 2014) authorized the CCC Chancellor’s Office to enter into agreements with up to 10 CCC districts to establish the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support program in order to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. The 2015-16 Budget Act provides up to $15 million for this purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CSU indicates the need to redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million. There are likely minor costs to the CCC to update the Board of Governors Fee Waiver form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify based on income criteria. The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources. The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
None received
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harper, Maienschein, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Chang, Gallagher, Jones, Kim, Mayes
Prepared by: Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
9/4/15 13:36:23
**** END ****
AB 801
Page 6
|
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 801
Amended: 9/1/15 in Senate
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Liu, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act
DIGEST: This bill requires the extension of priority enrollment, as specified, to homeless youth or former homeless youth at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension; requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison at each Cal Grant participating institution; grants homeless youth enrolling in a public higher education institution residency status, as specified; requires the waiver of per unit fees for a homeless youth or former homeless youth at the community colleges; and adds homeless youth to the categories of youth to be served under existing financial aid programs and services.
Existing federal law:
Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; b) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; c) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; d) are abandoned in hospitals; e) are awaiting foster care placement; f) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, g) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. (42 United States Code § 11301, et seq.)
Defines "homeless youth", under Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Existing state law:
Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each community college district, and requests each campus of the UC that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth. (Education Code § 66025.9)
Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a CCC. The training is required to address the specific needs of CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution, foster youth, and students with disabilities. (EC § 69514.5)
Establishes the Student Opportunity and Access Program, administered and supported by CSAC, to apportion funds, as specified for projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for elementary and secondary school pupils who are from low-income families, who would be the first in their families to attend college, and who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates. (EC § 69561)
Requires a community college governing board to charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing law makes this fee requirement inapplicable to noncredit courses and specified student groups and authorizes the governing board to exempt certain student groups from this fee. Existing law specifically requires that these fees be waived for students who, at the time of enrollment meet specified requirements, including, that they are members of the military, veterans or their dependents, as specified, receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program, demonstrate eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC Board of Governors, demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state and various others, as specified. (EC § 76300)
This bill:
Requires the CSU and each CCC, and requests each UC campus that administers a priority enrollment system, to extend priority enrollment to current homeless youth.
Defines “homeless” and "homeless youth" as having the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (see background).
Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined for purposes of the Cal Grant program, to both:
Designate an existing staff member within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison who is required to be responsible for understanding the federal Higher Education provisions on financial aid eligibility applicable to foster youth and homeless youth, as specified, and to assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and services.
Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act.
Request the UC Regents adopt policies, to the extent feasible, equivalent to the provisions outlined in 3) above.
Expands the training requirements for high school and community college counselors and advisors under the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training on the specific needs of current homeless youth, as defined.
Adds homeless youth, as defined, to the student groups that may be served under Student Opportunity and Access Program projects administered and supported by the CSAC.
Expands the list of students whose fees are required to be waived by a community college governing board to include any student who is a current homeless youth, as defined, at the time of enrollment.
Makes other clarifying, technical, and conforming changes.
Comments
Need for the bill. This bill allows homeless youth to receive some of the same services and exemptions that are available to foster youth. While many services exist for foster youth and former foster youth, homeless youth are often not documented in the child welfare system or legally identified as dependents, so most are either unable to utilize these benefits or unaware of programs for which they may qualify. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied.
Homeless youth. According to a September 2014 publication by the California Homeless Youth Project, California’s Homeless Students, a Growing Population, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (four percent in California versus two percent nationally). In its 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports an estimated 46,924 homeless youths nationally on a single night in January, with 80 percent of these individuals between the ages of 18-24.
Other services for homeless youth. SB 1023 (Liu, Chapter 771, Statutes of 2014) authorized the CCC Chancellor’s Office to enter into agreements with up to 10 CCC districts to establish the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support program in order to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. The 2015-16 Budget Act provides up to $15 million for this purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CSU indicates the need to redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million. There are likely minor costs to the CCC to update the Board of Governors Fee Waiver form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify based on income criteria. The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources. The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/28/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-13, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harper, Maienschein, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Chang, Gallagher, Jones, Kim, Mayes
Prepared by: Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105
9/1/15 21:30:35
**** END ****
AB 801 (Bloom) Page 0 of 1
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 801 (Bloom) - Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
|
|
Version: June 1, 2015 |
Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 0 |
Urgency: No |
Mandate: Yes |
Hearing Date: August 27, 2015 |
Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on August 27, 2015
Bill Summary:
This bill: (1) requires the extension of priority enrollment to homeless and former homeless youth at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension; (2) requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, as specified; (3) requires the waiver of per unit fees for homeless youth at the community colleges; and (4) includes these students in the California Student Aid Commission’s (CSAC) training and outreach programs.
Fiscal Impact:
The CSU indicates the need redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million. (General Fund)
Likely minor costs to the CCC to update the Board of Governors Fee Waiver form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify based on income criteria. (Proposition 98)
The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources.
The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
Committee Amendments:
Remove the references to former homeless youth that would drive major state reimbursable mandate costs and eliminate the residency determination entitlement to students who have been determined to be homeless anytime during the prior two years, as specified.
-- END --
AB 801 (Bloom) Page 3 of 3
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 801 (Bloom) - Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act
|
|
Version: June 1, 2015 |
Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 0 |
Urgency: No |
Mandate: Yes |
Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |
Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary:
This bill, among other things: (1) requires the extension of priority enrollment to homeless youth or former homeless youth at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension; (2) requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison, as specified; (3) requires the waiver of per unit fees for this population at the community colleges; (4) establishes residency status for this population, as specified; and (5) includes these students in the California Student Aid Commission’s (CSAC) training and outreach programs.
Fiscal Impact:
The CCC anticipates one-time costs of $11.3 million and ongoing costs of up to about $8.3 million. Activities include: modifications to electronic systems to make changes in financial aid calculations and modifications to residency verification processes. These costs may be determined to be reimbursable as a state mandate. (Proposition 98)
The CSU indicates the need redirect staff to fulfill the liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between $782,000 and $1.2 million. (General Fund)
The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a need for additional staffing resources.
The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
Background:
Federal law defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified. (42 United States Code § 11301, et seq.)
Federal law defines "homeless youth", under Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years by various entities, as specified.
State law also requires a community college governing board to charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing law makes this fee requirement not apply to noncredit courses and specified student groups, and authorizes the governing board to exempt certain student groups from this fee. (EC § 76300)
Proposed Law:
This bill requires the CSU and each community college district, and requests the UC, to afford current and former homeless youth certain enrollment and financial assistance and guidance benefits for postsecondary education. This bill’s requirements become inoperable on January 1, 2020.
Specifically, this bill requires, and requests the UC, to grant enrollment priority registration to a homeless or former homeless youth for campuses that administers a priority enrollment system. Current law provides this benefit to foster youth.
Postsecondary educational institutions that qualify for Cal Grants are required to do the following:
Designate a staff member to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The liaison is required to understand federal law relating to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster and homeless youth; identify available and appropriate services for these students; and assist them in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
Inform current and prospective students about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless and foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, pursuant to federal law.
This bill also:
Requires a student to be entitled to resident classification if the student has been determined to be homeless at any time during the two years immediately preceding the residency classification determination if the student currently lives in California and is 19 years old or under at the time of enrollment.
Expands training requirements for high school and community college counselors and advisors under the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training to address the needs of homeless and former homeless youth.
Adds homeless youth and former homeless youth to the student groups that may be served under the CSAC’s Student Opportunity and Access Program which apportions funds for projects designed to expand access to postsecondary educational opportunities for certain disadvantaged students.
Expands the list of students whose fees are required to be waived by a community college governing board to include a current or former homeless youth.
Staff Comments: Most homeless students are likely to be exempt from community colleges fees through established income standards. Therefore any associated costs are anticipated to be minor.
Substantial costs identified by the CCC appear to be driven by the definition of former homeless youth which applies to those who had been identified as homeless in the preceding six years. This definition conflicts with their eligibility as independent students for financial aid purposes. For the 2015-16 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), independent status was allowed for homeless individuals at any time on or after July 1, 2014 (one year). As an independent student, students report their own information on the FAFSA, whereas dependent students report their parent’s information.
This conflict would likely require colleges to process state aid using a different standard than that used by the federal government for financial aid purposes and modify their electronic records processing systems to calculate state aid. There are also costs attributed to changing the fee waiver processing system, which is largely automated by student FAFSA filing, but this work would likely be incorporated with other electronic system changes.
-- END --
AB 801 (Bloom) Page 5 of 5
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 801
Author: |
Bloom |
||
Version: |
June 1, 2015 Hearing Date: July 8, 2015 |
||
Urgency: |
No |
Fiscal: |
Yes |
Consultant: |
Kathleen Chavira |
||
Subject: Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act
SUMMARY
This bill requires the extension of priority enrollment, as specified, to homeless youth or former homeless youth at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) and requests that the University of California (UC) make this same extension, requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison at each Cal Grant participating institution, grants homeless youth enrolling in a public higher education institution residency status, as specified, requires the waiver of per unit fees for a homeless youth or former homeless youth at the community colleges and adds homeless youth to the categories of youth to be served under existing financial aid programs and services.
BACKGROUND
Existing federal law:
Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; 2) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; 3) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; 4) are abandoned in hospitals; 5) are awaiting foster care placement; 6) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, 7) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. (42 United States Code § 11301, et seq.)
Defines "homeless youth", under Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Existing state law:
Requires, until January 1, 2017, the California State University (CSU) and each community college district and requests each campus of the University of California (UC) that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth. (Education Code § 66025.9)
Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a California Community College (CCC). The training is required to address the specific needs of CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution, foster youth, and students with disabilities.
(EC § 69514.5)
Establishes the Student Opportunity and Access Program, administered and supported by CSAC, to apportion funds, as specified for projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for elementary and secondary school pupils who are from low-income families, who would be the first in their families to attend college, and who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(EC § 69561)
Requires a community college governing board to charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing law makes this fee requirement inapplicable to noncredit courses and specified student groups and authorizes the governing board to exempt certain student groups from this fee. Existing law specifically requires that these fees be waived for students who, at the time of enrollment meet specified requirements, including, that they are members of the military, veterans or their dependents, as specified, receive benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program, demonstrate eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC Board of Governors, demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state and various others, as specified. (EC § 76300)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
Requires the California State University (CSU) and each California Community College (CCC), and requests each UC campus that administers a priority enrollment system, to extend priority enrollment to current or former homeless youth.
Defines “homeless” and "homeless youth" as having the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (see background).
Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined for purposes of the Cal Grant program, to both:
Designate an existing staff member within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison who is required to be responsible for understanding the federal Higher Education provisions on financial aid eligibility applicable to foster youth and homeless youth, as specified and to assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and services.
Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act (HEA).
Request the UC Regents adopt policies, to the extent feasible, equivalent to the provisions outlined in (3).
Requires that a student that has been determined to be homeless, as defined, at any time during the two years immediately preceding residency classification be entitled to resident classification until he/she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to establish residency if :
The student currently resides in California.
The student is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment in a public higher education institution.
Expands the training requirements for high school and community college counselors and advisors under the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training on the specific needs of current and former homeless youth, as defined.
Adds homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, to the student groups that may be served under Student Opportunity and Access Program projects administered and supported by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).
Expands the list of students whose fees are required to be waived by a community college governing board to include any student who is a current or former homeless youth, as defined, at the time of enrollment.
Makes other clarifying, technical, and conforming changes.
STAFF COMMENTS
Need for the bill. This bill would allow homeless youth to receive some of the same services and exemptions that are available to foster youth. While many services exist for foster youth and former foster youth, homeless youth are often not documented in the child welfare system or legally identified as dependents, so most are either unable to utilize these benefits or unaware of programs for which they may qualify. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied.
Homeless youth. According to a September 2014 publication by the California Homeless Youth Project, California’s Homeless Students, a Growing Population, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (4 percent in California versus 2 percent nationally). In its 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports an estimated 46,924 homeless youths nationally on a single night in January, with 80 percent of these individuals between the ages of 18-24.
Other potential services for homeless youth? SB 1023 (Liu, Chapter 771, Statutes of 2014) authorized the California Community Colleges (CCC) Chancellors Office (CCCCO) to enter into agreements with up to 10 CCC districts to establish the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Educational Support program in order to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth. The 2015-16 Budget Act provides up to $15 million for this purpose. Should this program be expanded to include homeless youth and former homeless youth?
SUPPORT
Aspiranet
Bill Wilson Center
California Coalition for Youth
California Federation of Teachers
Campaign for College Opportunity
Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Echoes of Hope
Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership
Junior League of Orange County
University of California
OPPOSITION
None received.
-- END --
AB 801
Page 4
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 801
(Bloom)
As Amended June 1, 2015
Majority vote
Committee |
Votes |
Ayes |
Noes |
Higher Education |
11-2 |
Medina, Bloom, Chávez, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Low, Santiago, Weber, Williams |
Baker, Harper |
Human Services |
5-0 |
Chu, Calderon, Lopez, Mark Stone, Thurmond |
|
Appropriations |
12-3 |
Gomez, Bonta, Calderon, Daly, Eggman, Eduardo Garcia, Gordon, Holden, Quirk, Rendon, Weber, Wood |
Bigelow, Chang, Wagner |
SUMMARY: Enacts the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. Specifically, this bill:
Requires the California State University (CSU) and each California Community College (CCC) district (CCD) and requests the University of California (UC), with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in said system for registration for enrollment to a current or former homeless youth.
Defines "homeless" per the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; defines "homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined, to do both of the following: a) designate an existing staff member within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison; and, b) inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act (HEA).
Specifies that the designated Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal HEA pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied current and former homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories, shall assist said students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
Specifies that the definitions of current and former foster youth and/or homeless youth, as defined, apply for the entire measure.
Clarifies that the UC Regents are requested to adopt policies, as specified, to the extent that is feasible and equivalent to the provisions of the measure, as specified.
Specifies that a student who currently resides in California, and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment, may be entitled to resident classification until he/she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if he/she has been determined at any time during the two years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless, as defined.
Requires the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors on the specific needs of current and former homeless youth.
Authorizes the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to include pupils who are current and former homeless youth to receive support under CSAC's Student Opportunity and Access Program.
Authorizes the governing board of each CCC, at the time of enrollment of a current or former foster youth, to receive the Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver.
Specifies that if this measure is deemed a state mandate by the Commission on State Mandates, appropriate entities will be reimbursed.
Makes clarifying and technical changes to existing law.
EXISTING LAW:
Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each CCD and requests the UC, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth (Education Code (EC) Section 66025.9).
Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, which, among other things, provides financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a CCC. The training addresses the specific needs of all of the following: a) CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education; b) foster youth; and, c) students with disabilities (EC Section 69514.5).
Authorizes, CSAC as the administrators of the Student Opportunity and Access Program, to apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils: a) pupils who are from low-income families; b) pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college; and, c) pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates (EC Section 69561).
Waives the $46 per unit per semester from certain CCC students if, after meeting minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the CCC BOG, meet one of the following criteria: a) at the time of enrollment are recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program; b) demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC BOG; c) demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid; d) at the time of enrollment is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state; e) any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who qualified for the fee waiver; and, f) any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements, as specified, and either of the following applies: (i) the dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001; and, (ii) the individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001 (EC Section 76300).
FEDERAL LAW: Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; 2) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; 3) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; 4) are abandoned in hospitals; 5) are awaiting foster care placement; 6) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, 7) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings (42 United States Code Section 11301, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the public colleges and universities could likely meet this measure's requirement to designate an existing staff person as a liaison within existing resources. Any additional costs to community colleges would be state reimbursable, however.
COMMENTS: Background. According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), college homelessness is a serious issue that is often overlooked; there exists an assumption that if someone is homeless, he/she is so focused on basic needs like food and shelter that school is not a concern. However, NAEHCY contends that for homeless youth, education is the answer to providing homeless youth means to be able to enter into the work force, earn a living, and no longer be homeless.
To note, there is no concrete estimate for the number of homeless college students nationwide, but 58,158 college applicants indicated that they were homeless on federal financial aid forms for the 2012-13 academic year (most recent data available to date); which, according to NAEHCY, is up 8% from 53,705 in the previous year, according to federal data. NAEHCY argues that the number is likely understated, since some students may be staying in a car, relatives' or fellow classmates' couches, or motels, and do not realize they are technically homeless, or do not want to admit to it. Additionally, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (4% in CA vs. 2% nationally).
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year, in California, there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied. The author contends that the data indicates that many homeless youth are not matriculating into higher education and/or are not receiving the financial aid to which they are entitled. The author states, "This bill seeks to address state barriers to financial assistance for homeless youth." This measure will also bring parity among current and former homeless youth to that of current and former foster youth, who already receive some exemptions and waivers in current law (e. g. priority enrollment status).
Analysis Prepared by: Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0000758
AB 801
Page 2
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB 801
(Bloom) – As Introduced February 26, 2015
Policy Committee: |
Higher Education |
Vote: |
11 - 2 |
|
Human Services |
|
5 - 0 |
|
|
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill provides financial and other opportunities in postsecondary education for current and former homeless youth, as defined. Specifically, this bill:
Expands the requirement that every community college district (CCD) and the California State University (CSU), and the request to the University of California (UC), for each of their respective campuses that administer a priority enrollment system, to grant priority for registration and enrollment to a current or former homeless youth, as well as a current or former foster youth pursuant to current law.
Makes the above operative until January 1, 2020, which extends the existing January 1, 2017 sunset on the provisions currently applying to foster youth.
Defines homeless youth as a person age 24 or younger who has been homeless at any time during the current calendar year, and former homeless youth as someone age 24 or younger not currently homeless but determined to have been homeless within the preceding six years.
Requires a public or private postsecondary educational institution that participates in the Cal Grant program to designate a liaison for homeless and foster youth, having specified responsibilities, within the institution's financial aid office.
Provides that a college student, age 19 or older at the time of enrollment, is entitled to residency status until they have resided in the state for the minimum time to achieve residency status if they are determined to have been homeless at any time during the two years prior to enrollment.
Establishes the Community College Financial Aid Outreach Program, and requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), in consultation with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges (CCC), to provide training, as specified, to high school and community college counselor and advisors, which shall include addressing the needs of students seeking to transfer, foster and homeless youth and students with disabilities.
Allows CSAC to allocate funds for its Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) to pupils who are or were homeless youth or foster youth.
Makes any current or former homeless CCC student eligible for a CCC Board of Governors fee waiver.
FISCAL EFFECT:
CSU costs would be around $1 million GF annually for a half-time position at each campus specifically to provide the services required in the bill.
Assuming similar staffing requirements at the community colleges, reimbursable state-mandated costs would be $5.7 million annually. In addition, the community colleges indicate that, because the bill's definition of homeless is different from federal financial aid standards for establishing independence, districts may have to modify their electronic records processing systems, which would cost several million dollars systemwide. The cost of CCC fee waivers would likely be small, as most students that would be covered under this bill would already qualify for the waiver based on income.
UC indicates no additional cost to implement the bill.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. According to the author, in 2012-13 in California, there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied. The author contends the data indicates many homeless youth are not matriculating into higher education and/or are not receiving the financial aid to which they are entitled. The author states, "This bill seeks to address state barriers to financial assistance for homeless youth." This measure will also bring parity among current and former homeless youth to that of current and former foster youth, who already receive some exemptions and waivers in current law, such as priority enrollment status.
Related Legislation. AB 1228 (Gipson and Atkins), pending in the Assembly, expands current provisions, which request the public higher education segments to help accommodate the campus housing needs of current and former foster youth, to also encompass current and former homeless youth.
Analysis Prepared by: Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
AB 801
Page 5
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 801
(Bloom) – As Introduced February 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act
SUMMARY: Establishes the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act to increase access to postsecondary education for homeless youth.
Specifically, this bill:
Adds homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined, to current requirements for California State University (CSU) and California Community College districts (CCDs), and current requests of the University of California (UC), to grant priority to foster youth and former foster youth for registration for enrollment.
Defines “homeless” per the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as specified.
Defines “homeless youth” to mean a person 24 years old or younger who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year by specified individuals.
Defines “former homeless youth” to mean a person 24 years old or younger who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless at any time in the preceding six years by specified individuals.
Repeals the provision requiring the priority enrollment of homeless youth and former homeless youth on January 1, 2020. Further, extends the sunset date of the current law pertaining to priority enrollment for foster youth and former foster youth from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2020.
Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined, and requests the UC Regents, to adopt policies, if feasible, to:
Designate a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison with required responsibilities within its financial aid office, as specified; and
Inform current and prospective students about financial aid and other available assistance, as specified, for current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth.
States that a student who currently resides in California and is not over the age of 19 at the time of enrollment may be entitled to a resident classification until residency is established if he or she is determined at any time in the two years immediately preceding the residency classification to have been homeless, as defined.
Expands the scope of the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training that addresses the specific needs of homeless youth and former homeless youth, as defined.
Adds pupils who are homeless youth or former homeless youth, as defined, to permissible uses of funds apportioned by the Student Aid Commission to support projects to increase the accessibility of postsecondary education for certain elementary and secondary school pupils, as specified.
Extends California Community College fee waivers to students who are homeless youth, or former homeless youth, at the time of enrollment and who meet specified minimum academic and progress standards.
EXISTING LAW:
Establishes in federal law the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 to ensure educational rights and protections for youth experiencing homelessness. (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.)
Defines in federal law “homeless children and youth” to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including children and youth who are:
Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason;
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
Abandoned in hospitals;
Awaiting foster care placement;
Inhabiting a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, as specified;
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
Migratory, as defined, and who otherwise qualify as homeless per this definition.
(42 U.S.C. 11434(a)(2))
Requires each CSU and CCD, and requests the UC, with respect to each campus that administers a priority enrollment system to grant priority in that system to current or former members of the military, and foster youth and former foster youth, as specified. Repeals this requirement as it relates to foster youth and former foster youth on January 1, 2017. (EDC 66025.8 and 66025.9)
Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and requires the Student Aid Commission to develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors, as specified. Further requires the program to:
Include training to address the specific needs of community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education, foster youth, and students with disabilities;
Provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, as specified; and
Concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas with a high percentage of low-income families. (EDC 69514.5)
Permits the Student Aid Commission to, via the Student Opportunity and Access Program, apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any elementary and secondary school pupils who are: from low-income families, will be the first in their families to attend college, or are from schools or geographic regions with documented low eligibility or college participation rates. (EDC 69561)
Requires the governing board of each CCD to charge each student a fee of $46 per unit per semester, as specified, and further requires this fee to be waived for certain students who both meet minimum academic and progress standards and who meet other criteria, as specified. (EDC 76300)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Homeless children and youth: The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001 defines homeless children and youths as individuals who “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,” to include children and youths who: have to share housing with others due to loss of housing or economic hardship; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds because they lack other accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are awaiting foster placement; or have a primary nighttime residence that is not designed as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
Over 520,000 children in the state were estimated to be homeless in 2012-13, prompting the National Center on Family Homelessness at American Institutes for Research to rank California the 48th worst in the nation with regard to the extent of child homelessness (adjusted for state population). According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year, there were 18,000 homeless students in the 12th grade, yet only 10,208 college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied.
Supports for college students: A number of programs and provisions exist to help various populations of students, and potential students, who may face multiple barriers to achieving a post-secondary education gain access to that education. These programs include, but are not limited to:
Priority enrollment allowing certain students to register for classes prior to the general student body: each CSU and CCD that administers a priority enrollment system must grant priority to current or former members of the military, as well as foster youth and former foster youth. UC campuses are encouraged to do likewise. Additionally, each CCD campus that administers a priority enrollment system must also grant priority to CalWORKs recipients and to students in the Community College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services program, which serves to further the enrollment, retention and transfer of students facing barriers created by language, social, economic, and educational disadvantages;
Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program: this program provides financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors, and includes training to address the specific needs of certain populations of students, including but not limited to foster youth and students with disabilities;
Student Opportunity and Access Program: this program supports projects throughout the state that are designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary education for students who are from low-income families, will be the first in their families to attend college, or are from schools or areas where with significant rates of low college eligibility and participation; and
Community college fee waivers: current tuition at California Community Colleges for state residents is $46 per unit. This fee is waived for certain students who are meeting minimum academic and progress standards and who meet other criteria, including but not limited to those who meet income eligibility requirements, demonstrate financial need, or receive benefits from the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, or a general assistance program.
Need for this bill: Obtaining a college education can have significant impacts on an individual’s earnings and economic wellbeing. U.S. Census Bureau data from 2013 on the poverty status of Californians ages 25 and older indicate that over 25% of individuals with less than a high school degree were living below the federal poverty level. For those with a high school degree or equivalent, 15% were living below the poverty level. This rate fell to about 10% for individuals who had attended some college or obtained an associate’s degree. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher faced the lowest rate of poverty, at just over 5%. For homeless youth, support in overcoming barriers to higher education may be particularly impactful on their futures, offering opportunities to achieve economic mobility.
According to the author, “Homeless youth lack the resources and support that many college students enjoy. Often for homeless youth, completing high school can be a challenge and gaining college admittance an even bigger hurdle. Homeless youth navigating the college admission process and getting their degrees face hurdles that other students do not: housing in between school sessions, transportation, financial support, etc. While there are currently some government programs that are designed to help people with the same impediments, many homeless youth are not aware of them or don’t pursue them because they believe they lack the necessary documents (parent’s income, proof of residency, etc.). Homeless youth need support to get into and stay in college, they should be allowed to access some of the assistance given to foster youth. [This bill] will implement policies that will directly help homeless youth succeed in higher education. The bill will provide homeless students with the tools to access more financial assistance and help them get into college.”
SECOND COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE. This bill was previously heard in the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, on April 21, 2015 and was approved on an 11-2 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
AB 801
Page 5
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 801
(Bloom) – As Introduced February 26, 2015
[Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Human Services Committee and will be heard as it relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act
SUMMARY: Enacts the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. Specifically, this bill:
Requires the California State University (CSU) and each California Community College (CCC) district (CCD) and requests the University of California (UC), with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in said system for registration for enrollment to a current or former homeless youth.
Defines "homeless" per the same meaning as defined in Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; defines "homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and, defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately preceding six calendar years, by any of the following: a) a homeless services provider, as defined; b) the director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director; and, c) a financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
Requires a qualifying postsecondary educational institution, as defined, to do both of the following: a) designate a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison within the institution's financial aid office; and, b) inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to current and former homeless and/or foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students, per the federal Higher Education Act (HEA).
Specifies that the designated Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal HEA pertaining to independent student status and financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and unaccompanied current and former homeless youth, and shall assist said students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid.
Specifies that the definitions of current and former foster youth and/or homeless youth, as defined, apply for the entire measure.
Clarifies that the UC Regents are requested to adopt policies, as specified, to the extent that is feasible and equivalent to the provisions of the measure, as specified.
Specifies that a student who currently resides in California, and is 19 years of age or under at the time of enrollment, may be entitled to resident classification until he/she has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident if he/she has been determined at any time during the two years immediately preceding the residency classification determination to be homeless, as defined.
Requires the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to provide financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors on the specific needs of current and former homeless youth.
Authorizes the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to include pupils who are current and former homeless youth to receive support under CSAC's Student Opportunity and Access Program.
Authorizes the governing board of each CCC, at the time of enrollment of a current or former foster youth, to receive the BOG Fee Waiver.
Specifies that if this measure is deemed a state mandate by the Commission on State Mandates, appropriate entities will be reimbursed.
Makes clarifying and technical changes to existing law.
EXISTING LAW:
Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each CCD and requests the UC, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority registration for enrollment of current or former foster youth (Education Code Section 66025.9).
Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program, which, among other things, provides financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisors who work with students planning to attend or attending a CCC. The training addresses the specific needs of all of the following: a) CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education; b) foster youth; and, c) students with disabilities (EC Section 69514.5).
Authorizes, CSAC as the administrators of the Student Opportunity and Access Program, to apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils: a) pupils who are from low-income families; b) pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college; and, c) pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates (EC Section 69561).
Waives the forty-six dollars per unit per semester from certain CCC students if, after meeting minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the CCC Board of Governors (BOG), meet one of the following criteria: a) at the time of enrollment are recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program; b) demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the CCC BOG; c) demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid; d) at the time of enrollment is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state; e) any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who qualified for the fee waiver; and, f) any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements, as specified, and either of the following applies: (i) the dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001; and, (ii) the individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001 (EC Section 76300).
FEDERAL LAW: Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; 2) are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; 3) are living in emergency or transitional shelters; 4) are abandoned in hospitals; 5) are awaiting foster care placement; 6) have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; and, 7) are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings (42 U.S.C. Section 11301, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), college homelessness is a serious issue that is often overlooked; there exists an assumption that if someone is homeless, he/she is so focused on basic needs like food and shelter that school is not a concern. However, NAEHCY contends that for homeless youth, education is the answer to providing homeless youth means to be able to enter into the work force, earn a living, and no longer be homeless.
To note, there is no concrete estimate for the number of homeless college students nationwide, but 58,158 college applicants indicated that they were homeless on federal financial aid forms for the 2012-13 academic year (most recent data available to date); which, according to NAEHCY, is up eight percent from 53,705 in the previous year, according to federal data. NAEHCY argues that the number is likely understated, since some students may be staying in a car, relatives' or fellow classmates' couches, or motels, and do not realize they are technically homeless, or do not want to admit to it. Additionally, California has the highest rate of homeless youth in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average (four percent in CA vs. two percent nationally).
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, in the 2012-13 school year, in California, there were 18,000 homeless pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college students in total indicated a status of being homeless and unaccompanied. The author contends that the data indicates that many homeless youth are not matriculating into higher education and/or are not receiving the financial aid to which they are entitled. The author states, "This bill seeks to address state barriers to financial assistance for homeless youth." This measure will also bring parity among current and former homeless youth to that of current and former foster youth, who already receive some exemptions and waivers in current law (e. g. priority enrollment status).
Committee considerations. As mentioned in the "Existing Law" section of this analysis, there are several categories/classifications of students who, upon enrollment at the CCC, automatically qualify for the BOG Fee Waiver. This measure will add current and former homeless youth to said list.
To note, according to the CCC Chancellor's Office, more than likely, current and potentially former homeless youth currently benefit from the BOG Fee Waiver based on their needs.
This measure would automatically allow all current and former homeless students, regardless of need, to benefit from the BOG Fee Waiver. Moving forward, the author may wish to determine if it is financially prudent for the state to specifically add another category/classification of students to the existing list of those students who automatically qualify for the BOG Fee Waiver.
Additionally, as drafted, the measure tasks the qualifying institutions with designating a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison within the institutions' financial aid office. Some campuses that already have programs and services in place for current and former foster and homeless youth have a "one stop shop" for said students to receive all the services they require, including financial aid assistance.
Moving forward, the author may wish to remove the requirement that the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison must be housed only in the institutions' financial aid offices.
Related legislation. AB 1228 (Gipson and Atkins), which will be heard by this Committee today, would, among other things, request and require, as specified, California' s public postsecondary institutions to provide priority campus housing to current and former homeless youth, as defined.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Coalition for Youth (co-sponsor)
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Housing California (co-sponsor)
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (co-sponsor)
National Center for Youth Law
1 Individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
Discussed in Hearing
58SEC
Assembly Floor
3MIN
Senate Floor
1MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations
8MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Education
1MIN
Assembly Floor
11MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):