Amended in Assembly April 10, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2099


Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Medina and Williams)

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February 20, 2014


An act to add Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 67100) to Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2099, as amended, Frazier. Postsecondary education: Title 38 awards.

Title 38 of the United States Code provides educational awards for eligible active duty members and veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States. Existing law requires an institution headquartered or operating in California desiring to enroll students eligible for federal Title 38 awards in accredited courses to make application for approval of these courses to the California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education, commonly known as CSAAVE, and authorizes CSAAVE to approve the application of the school when the school and its accredited courses satisfy the specified criteria and any additional reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE.

Unless an exception applies, this bill would deembegin delete anend deletebegin insert a public or private postsecondaryend insert institutionbegin delete ineligibleend deletebegin insert that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education eligibleend insert for initial and renewal Title 38 awards if the institution has a 3-year cohort default ratebegin delete equal to or greaterend deletebegin insert lessend insert than 15.5%begin delete orend deletebegin insert andend insert a graduation rate ofbegin insert greater thanend insert 30%begin delete or lessend delete for students taking 150% or less of the expected time to complete degree requirements,begin delete or does not satisfyend deletebegin insert and satisfiesend insert the other criteria for qualification for Title 38 awards in the bill.begin insert The bill would deem a private postsecondary institution that does not meet the cohort default rate or graduation rate requirementend insertbegin insert, but that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, eligible for initial and renewal Title 38 awards if the institution is issued an approval to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and satisfies the other criteria for qualification for Title 38 awards in the bill.end insert

The bill would require CSAAVE to certify bybegin delete Octoberend deletebegin insert Novemberend insert 1 of each yearbegin delete anend deletebegin insert a public or privateend insert institution’s latest 3-year cohort default rate and graduation rate as most recently reported by the United States Department ofbegin delete Education,end deletebegin insert Education and a private postsecondary institution’s approval to operate issued by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education if that private postsecondary institution fails to satisfy the cohort default rate or graduation rate requirement. The bill would require CSAAVEend insert to notify initial Title 38 recipients seeking to attend, or attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and renewal Title 38 awards that the institution is ineligible for Title 38 awards for the academic year, and to provide initial and renewal Title 38 recipients at an ineligible institution with a complete list of all California postsecondary institutions at which the student would be eligible to receive a Title 38 award.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 67100)
2is added to Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
3to read:

4 

5Chapter  12.5. Title 38 Awards
6

 

7

67100.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

8(a) Section 21.4253begin insert of Title 38end insert of the Code of Federal
9Regulations requires a postsecondary institution headquartered or
10operating in California desiring to enroll veterans or persons
11eligible for Title 38 awards in accredited courses to make
P3    1application for approval of these courses to the California State
2Approving Agency for Veterans Education, commonly known as
3CSAAVE, as the state approving agency legally designated
4pursuant to Section 3671 of Subchapter I of Chapter 36 of Title
538 of the United States Code.

6(b) Section 21.4253 authorizes CSAAVE to approve the
7application of the school when the school and its accredited courses
8satisfy the criteria provided in Section 21.4253 and additional
9reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE.

10(c) It is reasonable pursuant to Section 21.4253 for CSAAVE
11to require an institutionbegin insert, public or private,end insert to maintain a three-year
12cohort default rate and graduation rate that satisfies the three-year
13cohort default rate and graduation rate requirements of the Cal
14Grant Programbegin insert, or for the private postsecondary institution to be
15approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, and
16to require the institution, public or private, to comply with all
17federal and state laws and regulations, in orderend insert
for the institution
18to be eligible for initial and renewal Title 38 awards.

19

67101.  

The Title 38 Funding Program is hereby established,
20under the administration of the California State Approving Agency
21for Veterans Education.begin insert The California State Approving Agency
22for Veterans Education shall approve courses at public or private
23postsecondary educational institutions desiring to enroll veterans
24or persons eligible for Title 38 awards in accordance with federal
25law, this chapter, and other reasonable criteria established by the
26California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education.end insert

27

67102.  

As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
28following meanings:

29(a) An “academic year” is July 1 to June 30, inclusive. The
30starting date of a session shall determine the academic year in
31which it is included.

32(b) “CSAAVE” is the California State Approving Agency for
33Veterans Education.

34(c) (1) “Qualifying institution” means an institution that
35complies with paragraphsbegin delete (2) and (3) and is any of the following:end delete
36begin insert (2), (3), (4), and (5), and either paragraph (6) or (7).end insert

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37(A) A California private or independent postsecondary
38educational institution that participates in the Pell Grant Program
39and in at least two of the following federal campus-based student
40aid programs:

P4    1(i) Federal Work-Study.

2(ii) Perkins Loan Program.

3(iii) Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program.

4(B) A nonprofit institution headquartered and operating in
5California that certifies to CSAAVE that 10 percent of the
6institution’s operating budget, as demonstrated in an audited
7financial statement, is expended for purposes of institutionally
8funded student financial aid in the form of grants, that demonstrates
9to the CSAAVE that it has the administrative capacity to administer
10the funds, that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools
11and Colleges, and that meets any other state-required criteria
12adopted by regulation by the CSAAVE in consultation with the
13 Department of Finance. A regionally accredited institution that
14was deemed qualified by the CSAAVE to participate in the Cal
15Grant Program for the 2013-14 academic year shall retain its
16eligibility as long as it maintains its existing accreditation status.

17(C) A California public postsecondary educational institution.

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18(2) (A) The institution shall provide information on where to
19access California license examination passage rates for the most
20recent available year from graduates of its undergraduate programs
21leading to employment for which passage of a California licensing
22examination is required, if that data is electronically available
23through the Internet Web site of a California licensing or regulatory
24agency. For purposes of this paragraph, “provide” may exclusively
25include placement of an Internet Web site address labeled as an
26access point for the data on the passage rates of recent program
27graduates on the Internet Web site where enrollment information
28is also located, on an Internet Web site that provides centralized
29admissions information for postsecondary educational systems
30with multiple campuses, or on applications for enrollment or other
31program information distributed to prospective students.

32(B) The institution shall be responsible for certifying tobegin delete theend delete
33 CSAAVE compliance with the requirements of subparagraph (A).

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34(3) The institution shall provide evidence of accreditation to
35CSAAVE from an accrediting agency recognized by the United
36States Department of Education. An institution offering an
37unaccredited degree that is participating in Title 38 award
38programs on January 1, 2015, shall have until January 1, 2016,
39to obtain and provide evidence to CSAAVE of its candidacy status
40for accreditation with an accrediting agency recognized by the
P5    1United States Department of Education in order for the institution
2to be eligible for Title 38 awards for the academic year of 2015-16,
3or 2016-17, or both, and to obtain and provide evidence to
4CSAAVE of full accreditation from the accrediting agency by
5January 1, 2017 to be eligible for Title 38 awards for the academic
6year of 2017-18, and each academic year thereafter.

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7(4) The institution shall provide, in a manner prescribed by
8CSAAVE, information on the institution’s veteran student retention
9rate and graduation rate, time to degree, cohort default rate, and
10graduate placement and graduate starting salary for its veteran
11students. CSAAVE shall require that, to the extent feasible, the
12collection of information and reporting calculations pursuant to
13this paragraph comply with federal and state reporting
14requirements.

end insert
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15(5) The institution shall provide to CSAAVE evidence of
16compliance with the federal Principles of Excellence program.

end insert
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17(3) (A) The

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18begin insert(6)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insert(A)end insertbegin insertend insertCSAAVE shall certify bybegin delete Octoberend deletebegin insert Novemberend insert 1 of each
19year the institution’s latest three-year cohort default rate and
20graduation rate as most recently reported by the United States
21Department of Education.

22(B) For purposes of the 2015-16 academic year, and every
23academic year thereafter,begin delete an otherwise qualifying end deletebegin insert theend insert institution
24begin delete withend deletebegin insert maintains end inserta three-year cohort default rate that isbegin delete equal to or
25greaterend delete
begin insert lessend insert than 15.5 percent, as certified bybegin delete the CSAAVE shall
26be deemed ineligible by CSAAVE for initial and renewal of Title
2738 awards at the institutionend delete
begin insert CSAAVEend insert.

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28(C) (i) An otherwise qualifying institution that becomes
29ineligible under this paragraph for initial and renewal of Title 38
30awards shall regain its eligibility for the academic year for which
31it satisfies the requirements established in subparagraph (B) or
32(E), as applicable.

33(ii) If the United States Department of Education corrects or
34revises an institution’s three-year cohort default rate or graduation
35rate that originally failed to satisfy the requirements established
36in subparagraph (B) or (E), as applicable, and the correction or
37revision results in the institution’s three-year cohort default rate
38or graduation rate satisfying those requirements, that institution
39shall immediately regain its eligibility for the academic year to
P6    1which the corrected or revised three-year cohort default rate or
2graduation rate would have been applied.

3(D) An otherwise qualifying institution for which no three-year
4cohort default rate or graduation rate has been reported by the
5United States Department of Education shall be provisionally
6eligible to participate in the Title 38 Funding Program until a
7three-year cohort default rate or graduation rate has been reported
8for the institution by the United States Department of Education.

9(E)

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10begin insert (C)end insert For purposes of the 2015-16 academic year, and every
11academic year thereafter,begin delete an otherwise qualifyingend deletebegin insert theend insert institution
12begin delete withend deletebegin insert maintainsend insert a graduation rate ofbegin insert greater thanend insert 30 percentbegin delete or lessend delete
13 for students taking 150 percent or less of the expected time to
14complete degree requirements, as reported by the United States
15Department of Education and as certified bybegin delete theend delete CSAAVE pursuant
16to subparagraphbegin delete (A), shall be deemed by CSAAVE to be ineligible
17for initial and renewal of Title 38 awards at the institution, except
18as provided for in subparagraph (G)end delete
begin insert (A)end insert.

begin delete

19(F)

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20begin insert (D)end insert Notwithstanding any other law, the requirements of this
21paragraph shall not apply to institutions with 40 percent or less of
22undergraduate students borrowing federal student loans, using
23information reported to the United States Department of Education
24for the academic year two years before the year in whichbegin delete theend delete
25 CSAAVE is certifying the three-year cohort default rate or
26graduation rate pursuant to subparagraph (A).

begin delete

27(G)

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28begin insert (E)end insert Notwithstanding subparagraphbegin delete (E),end deletebegin insert (C)end insert an otherwise
29qualifying institution with a three-year cohort default rate that is
30less than 10 percent and a graduation rate above 20 percent for
31students taking 150 percent or less of the expected time to complete
32degree requirements, as certified bybegin delete theend delete CSAAVE pursuant to
33subparagraph (A), shall remain eligible for initial and renewal Title
3438 awards at the institution through the 2018-19 academic year.

begin delete

35(H) The CSAAVE shall do all of the following:

36(i) Notify initial Title 38 recipients seeking to attend, or
37attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and renewal
38Title 38 awards under subparagraph (B) or (E) that the institution
39is ineligible for initial Title 38 awards for the academic year for
40which the student received an initial Title 38 award.

P7    1(ii) Provide initial and renewal Title 38 recipients seeking to
2attend, or attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and
3renewal Title 38 awards at the institution under subparagraph (B)
4or (E) with a complete list of all California postsecondary
5educational institutions at which the student would be eligible to
6receive a Title 38 award.

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7(F) If the United States Department of Education corrects or
8revises an institution’s three-year cohort default rate or graduation
9rate that would have otherwise failed to satisfy the requirements
10established pursuant to subparagraph (B), (C), or (E), as
11applicable, and the corrections or revision results in the
12institution’s three-year default rate or graduation rate satisfying
13those requirements, the institution shall immediately regain its
14eligibility for the academic year to which the corrected or revised
15three-year default rate or graduation rate would have been applied.

end insert
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16(G) A private postsecondary institution that becomes ineligible
17for initial and renewal Title 38 awards pursuant to this paragraph
18shall be provided an opportunity to gain eligibility. CSAAVE shall
19establish rules and procedures to govern the institution’s transition
20to eligibility to ensure students who would otherwise receive initial
21and renewal awards are not adversely affected during the
22transition.

end insert
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23(7) (A) The institution is a private postsecondary institution
24issued an approval to operate from the Bureau for Private
25Postsecondary Education.

end insert
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26(B) CSAAVE shall certify by November 1 of each year whether
27a private postsecondary institution has been issued an approval
28to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education,
29if that institution fails to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (6).

end insert
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30

begin insert67103.end insert  

CSAAVE shall do all of the following:

31(a) Notify initial Title 38 recipients seeking to attend, or
32attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and renewal
33Title 38 awards under this chapter that the institution is ineligible
34for initial Title 38 awards for the academic year for which the
35student received an initial Title 38 award.

36(b) Provide initial and renewal Title 38 recipients seeking to
37attend, or attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and
38renewal Title 38 awards at the institution under this chapter with
39a complete list of all California postsecondary educational
P8    1institutions at which the student would be eligible to receive a Title
238 award.

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