Amended in Senate August 22, 2014

Amended in Senate August 18, 2014

Amended in Senate July 2, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 7, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 24, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 10, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2099

Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Chávez)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Medina and Williams)

(Coauthor: Senator Correa)

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 institutions and programs 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 deem a public or private postsecondary educational institution that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education eligible for begin delete initial and renewal end delete Title 38 awards if the institution begin delete qualifies for Cal Grants or has a 3-year cohort default rate less than 15.5% and a graduation rate of greater than 30% for students taking 150% or less of the expected time to complete degree requirements, as specified, and satisfies the other end delete begin insert satisfies specified end insert criteria for qualification for Title 38 awards in the bill. begin insert The bill would, if another specified bill is enacted, deem an institution that may claim a specified exemption from the requirements of the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 eligible for Title 38 awards if the institution satisfies other criteria for qualification for Title 38 awards in this bill. end insert The bill would deem a private postsecondary educational institution begin delete that does not meet the Cal Grant qualification requirement, or the cohort default rate or graduation rate requirement, but that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, end delete eligible for begin delete initial and renewal end delete Title 38 awards if the institution is issued an approval to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education begin insert , as specified, end insert and satisfies the other criteria for qualification for Title 38 awards in the bill.

begin delete The bill would require CSAAVE to verify by November 1 of each year a public or private institution’s latest 3-year cohort default rate and graduation rate as most recently reported by the United States Department of Education, and a private postsecondary educational institution’s approval to operate issued by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education if that private postsecondary educational institution fails to satisfy the cohort default rate or graduation rate requirement. end delete The bill would require CSAAVE to notify initial Title 38 recipients seeking to attend, or attending, an institution that is ineligible for begin delete initial and renewal end delete 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 educational 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:

SECTION 1.  

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

 

Chapter  12.5. Title 38 Awards

 

67100.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Section 21.4253 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal
Regulations requires a postsecondary educational institution
headquartered or operating in California desiring to enroll veterans
or persons eligible for Title 38 awards in accredited institutions
and programs to make application for approval of these courses
to the California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education,
commonly known as CSAAVE, as the state approving agency
legally designated pursuant to Section 3671 of Subchapter I of
Chapter 36 of Title 38 of the United States Code.

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

(c) It is reasonable pursuant to Section 21.4253 for CSAAVE
to require begin delete an end delete begin insert a postsecondary educational end insert institution, public or
private, to begin delete maintain a three-year cohort default rate and graduation
rate that satisfies the requirements of the Cal Grant Program, or
for the private postsecondary educational institution to be approved
by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, and to require
the institution, public or private, end delete begin insert obtain accreditation for its degree
programs, end insert to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations,
and begin insert to comply with end insert any additional reasonable criteria established
by begin delete CSAAVE, in order for the institution to be eligible for initial
and renewal Title 38 awards. end delete begin insert CSAAVE. It is reasonable pursuant
to Section 21.4253 for CSAAVE to require a private postsecondary
institution to be issued an approval to operate from the Bureau
for Private Postsecondary Education. end insert

67101.  

The Title 38 Funding Program is hereby established,
under the administration of the California State Approving Agency
for Veterans Education. The California State Approving Agency
for Veterans Education shall approve qualifying institutions
desiring to enroll veterans or persons eligible for Title 38 awards
in accordance with federal law, this chapter, and other reasonable
criteria established by the California State Approving Agency for
Veterans Education.

67102.  

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

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

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

(c) (1) “Qualifying institution” means begin delete an end delete begin insert a degree-granting end insert
institution that complies with paragraphs begin delete (2) and (3), and either
paragraph (4) or (5). end delete begin insert (2), (3), and (4), or a nondegree-granting
institution that complies with paragraphs (2) and (4). end insert

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

(B) The institution shall be responsible for certifying to
CSAAVE compliance with the requirements of subparagraph (A).

(3)  begin delete The end delete begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A degree-granting end insert institution shall provide evidence
of accreditation of the institution and of all degree programs to
CSAAVE. The accrediting agency shall be recognized by the
United States Department of Education. begin delete An unaccredited institution
participating in Title 38 award programs on January 1, 2015, shall
have until January 1, 2016, to end delete begin insert An unaccredited degree-granting
institution participating in the Title 38 award program on January
1, 2015, shall satisfy both of the following to remain eligible to
receive Title 38 awards: end insert

begin insert (i) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The institution shall end insert obtain and provide evidence to CSAAVE
of its candidacy or preaccreditation begin delete status end delete begin insert status, end insert with an
accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department
of begin delete Education in order end delete begin insert Education, by January 1, 2016, end insert for the
institution to be eligible for Title 38 awards for the academic year
of 2015-16, or 2016-17, or begin delete both, and to end delete begin insert both. end insert

begin insert (ii) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The institution shall end insert obtain and provide evidence to
CSAAVE of accreditation from the accrediting agency begin insert with which
it had candidacy or preaccreditation status end insert by January 1, 2017,
begin insert for the institution end insert to be eligible for Title 38 awards for the academic
year of 2017-18, and each academic year thereafter.

begin delete

(4) (A) The institution is either a Cal Grant qualifying institution
that meets the requirements of subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7,
or an institution that meets the school performance standards
required in this paragraph. CSAAVE shall verify by November 1
of each year the institution’s latest three-year cohort default rate
and graduation rate as most recently reported by the United States
Department of Education.

(B) For purposes of the 2015-16 academic year, and every
academic year thereafter, the institution shall maintain a three-year
cohort default rate that is less than 15.5 percent, and a graduation
rate of greater than 30 percent for students taking 150 percent or
less of the expected time to complete degree requirements.

(C) Notwithstanding any other law, the requirements of this
paragraph shall not apply to institutions with 40 percent or less of
undergraduate students borrowing federal student loans, as verified
by CSAAVE, using information reported to the United States
Department of Education for the academic year two years before
the year in which CSAAVE is verifying the three-year cohort
default rate or graduation rate pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), an otherwise qualifying
institution with a three-year cohort default rate that is less than 10
percent and a graduation rate above 20 percent for students taking
150 percent or less of the expected time to complete degree
requirements, as verified by CSAAVE pursuant to subparagraph
(A), shall remain eligible for initial and renewal Title 38 awards
at the institution through the 2018-19 academic year.

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

(F) A private postsecondary educational institution that becomes
ineligible for initial and renewal Title 38 awards pursuant to this
paragraph shall be provided an opportunity to gain eligibility under
the requirements of paragraph (5). CSAAVE shall establish rules
and procedures to govern the institution’s transition to eligibility
to ensure students who would otherwise receive initial and renewal
awards are not adversely affected during the transition.

(5) (A) The institution is a private postsecondary educational
institution issued an approval to operate from the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education and is subject to the regulatory oversight
and enforcement of student protections provided by the bureau.

(B) CSAAVE shall certify by November 1 of each year whether
a private postsecondary educational institution has been issued an
approval to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education, if that institution fails to satisfy the requirements of
paragraph (4).

end delete begin insert

(B) If an unaccredited degree-granting institution participating
in the Title 38 award program fails to satisfy the accreditation
requirements provided in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), a veteran
enrolled in a degree program offered by the institution prior to
January 1, 2016, shall remain eligible for Title 38 awards through
his or her completion of that degree program. If an unaccredited
degree-granting institution participating in the Title 38 award
program fails to satisfy the accreditation requirements provided
in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), a veteran enrolled in a degree
program offered by the institution prior to January 1, 2017, shall
remain eligible for Title 38 awards through his or her completion
of that degree program.

end insert begin insert

(C) An unaccredited degree-granting institution that does not
satisfy the accreditation requirements provided in clause (i) of
subparagraph (A), shall not enroll any new Title 38 eligible
students to any of its degree programs after January 1, 2016. An
unaccredited degree granting institution that does not satisfy the
accreditation requirements provided in clause (ii) of subparagraph
(A), shall not enroll any new Title 38 students to any of its degree
programs after January 1, 2017, without first providing these
prospective students with the following written disclosure:

end insert
begin insert end insert
begin insert

“If you choose to attend this institution, you will not be eligible
to receive a Title 38 award because this institution did not satisfy
one or more of the accreditation requirements to receive Title 38
awards.”

end insert
begin insert end insert
begin insert

(4) The institution shall be one of the following to be eligible
for Title 38 awards:

end insert begin insert

(A) A campus of the California Community Colleges, the
California State University, or the University of California.

end insert begin insert

(B) An independent institution of higher education, as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 66010.

end insert begin insert

(C) (i) For purposes of the 2015-16 award year, a private
postsecondary educational institution, as defined in Section 94858.

end insert begin insert

(ii) For purposes of the 2016-17 award year, and every award
year thereafter, a private postsecondary educational institution,
as defined in Section 94858, that has an approval to operate from
the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, is subject to the
regulatory oversight and enforcement of student protections
provided by the bureau, and has its approval to operate certified
by CSAAVE.

end insert begin insert

(D) (i) An institution described in subdivision (i) of Section
94874 that satisfies all of the requirements provided in Section
94947.

end insert begin insert

(ii) This subparagraph shall become operative only if Senate
Bill 1247 of the 2013-14 Regular Session is enacted and adds
Section 94947 to this code.

end insert

67103.  

CSAAVE shall do all of the following:

(a) Notify initial Title 38 recipients seeking to attend, or
attending, an institution that is ineligible for begin delete initial and renewal end delete
Title 38 awards under this chapter that the institution is ineligible
for begin delete initial end delete Title 38 awards for the academic year for which the
student received begin delete an initial end delete begin insert a end insert Title 38 award.

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

begin insert

(c) Commencing for purposes of the 2016-17 award year, and
every award year thereafter, certify whether a private
postsecondary educational institution has been issued an approval
to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.

end insert

67104.  

Compliance with this chapter, in and of itself, shall not
be construed as satisfying the requirements for participation in
programs authorized by the federal Higher Education Act,
including, but not limited to, Section 600.9 of Title 34 of the Code
of Federal Regulations.