BILL NUMBER: SB 1028 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 25, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Williams )
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
An act to amend Section 69439 of the Education Code, relating to
student financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1028, as amended, Jackson. Student financial aid: Cal Grant C
awards.
Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant
Act, establishes the Cal Grant C Program
program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission
and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under this
program. The act requires that a Cal Grant C award be used only for
occupational or technical training, as defined, in a course of not
less than 4 months. The act requires the commission, after
consultation with state and federal agencies, to determine the areas
of occupational or technical training for which Cal Grant C awards
shall be awarded. Existing law also requires the Student Aid
Commission to develop, and regularly review and update at least every
5 years, the areas of occupational or technical training for which
students may utilize Cal Grant C awards and to give priority in
granting the awards to students pursuing occupational or technical
training in areas that meet specified criteria. The act requires the
maximum award amount and total amount of funding for the Cal Grant C
Program program to be determined each
year in the annual Budget Act. The act requires the number of the
awards made each year to be the same as the number of awards made for
the 2000-01 fiscal year. The act requires the Legislative Analyst's
Office to report every odd-numbered year to the Legislature on the
outcomes of the Cal Grant C program, as specified.
This bill would revise and recast the act to, among other things,
require the number of awards made each year to be at least the same
number of awards made for the 2000-01 fiscal year and would require
, if sufficient funds are available, the amount awarded to
be not less than $3,009, and not more than $5,000, per award. The
bill would reserve 2,500 awards for the California's long-term
unemployed. The bill would provide that if, for a given year,
there are less than 2,500 long-term unemployed applicants, the
balance of the awards would be awarded as specified. The bill
would additionally authorize the award be expended for the student's
living expenses. The bill would require the commission, in
consultation with specified entities, for purposes of the Cal Grant C
program, to prioritize occupational training programs and industry
clusters. The bill would require the commission to consult with
specified public entities to develop a plan to publicize the grant
award program to the for California's
long-term unemployed to be used by those specified public
entities when they come into contact with members of the population
who are likely to be eligible for the award, and would
require the commission to develop a plan to make students
receiving awards aware of job search and placement services available
through specified public entities. Because a local workforce
investment board would be required to use the plan to publicize the
grant award program for the long-term unemployed, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require
the commission, instead of the Legislative Analyst's Office, to
submit to the Legislature the above-described reports and would
require the reports to provide information separately on the awards
reserved for the long-term unemployed.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 69439 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69439. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Career pathway" means an identified series of positions, work
experiences, or educational benchmarks or credentials with multiple
access points that offer occupational and financial advancement
within a specific career field or related fields over time.
(2) "Economic security" means, with respect to a worker, earning a
wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and, over time, to
save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement income, based on
factors, such as household size, the cost of living in the worker's
community, and other factors that may vary by region.
(3) "Industry cluster" means any of the following:
(A) A geographic concentration or emerging concentration of
interdependent industries with direct service, supplier, and research
relationships.
(B) Independent industries that share common resources in a given
regional economy or labor market.
(C) A group of employers closely linked by common products or
services, workforce needs, similar technologies, and supply chains in
a given regional economic or labor market.
(4) "Long-term unemployed" means, with respect to an award
applicant, a person who has been unemployed for more than 26 weeks at
the time of submission to the commission of his or her application.
(5) "Occupational or technical training" means that phase of
education coming after the completion of a secondary school program
and leading toward recognized occupational goals approved by the
commission.
(b) (1) A Cal Grant C award shall be utilized only for
occupational or technical training in a course of not less than four
months. Except as provided in paragraph (4), there
There shall be, at least, the same number of Cal Grant C
awards each year as were made in the 2000-01 fiscal year.
(2) (A) A minimum of 2,500 Cal Grant C
awards shall be reserved for California's long-term unemployed.
(B) If, for a given year, fewer than 2,500 applicants who are
long-term unemployed apply for these awards, then the balance of the
awards shall be reserved for those who have dropped out of the labor
force after being unemployed for more than 26 weeks.
(C) If, for a given year, fewer than 2,500 applicants who are
long-term unemployed for a year or who have dropped out of the
workforce after being unemployed for more than 26 weeks apply for
these awards, then the balance of the awards shall be available for
applicants who meet the general eligibility criteria.
(3) The maximum award amount and the total amount of funding shall
be determined each year in the annual Budget Act, but , if
sufficient funds are available, the annual award amount of Cal
Grant C awards shall be no less than three thousand nine dollars
($3,009) and no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per award.
(4) If the total amount of funding provided in the annual Budget
Act for a fiscal year is insufficient to provide the same number of
Cal Grant C awards made in the 2000-01 fiscal year at the minimum
award level of three thousand nine dollars ($3,009) for each award,
the commission shall ensure the amount awarded for each award is not
less than three thousand nine dollars ($3,009).
(c) The commission may use criteria it deems appropriate in
selecting students to receive grants for occupational or technical
training and may use different criteria for awards reserved for the
long-term unemployed.
(d) The Cal Grant C award recipients shall be eligible for renewal
of their grants until they have completed their occupational or
technical training in conformance with terms prescribed by the
commission. A determination by the commission for a subsequent award
year that the program under which a Cal Grant C award was
initially awarded is no longer deemed to receive priority shall not
affect an award recipient's renewal. In no case shall the grants
exceed two calendar years.
(e) Cal Grant C awards may be used for institutional fees,
charges, and other costs, including tuition, plus training-related
costs, such as special clothing, local transportation, required
tools, equipment, supplies, books, and living expenses. In
determining the individual award amounts, the commission shall take
into account other state and federal programs available to the
applicant.
(f) (1) To ensure alignment with the state's dynamic economic
needs, the commission, in consultation with appropriate state and
federal agencies, including the Economic and Workforce Development
Division of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges and the California Workforce Investment Board, shall
identify areas of occupational and technical training for which
students may utilize Cal Grant C awards. The commission, to the
extent feasible, shall also consult with representatives of the state'
s leading competitive and emerging industry clusters, workforce
professionals, and career technical educators, to determine which
occupational training programs and industry clusters should be
prioritized.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the areas of
occupational and technical training developed pursuant to paragraph
(1) shall be regularly reviewed and updated at least every five
years, beginning in 2012.
(B) By January 1, 2016, the commission shall update the priority
areas of occupational and technical training.
(3) The commission shall give priority in granting Cal Grant C
awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in
areas that meet the following criteria:
(A) High employer need or demand and likelihood of the student
being placed in a job for which the student is being trained.
(B) High employment salary or wage projections for workers
employed in the occupations for which they are being trained.
(C) The likelihood of job placement in a position with a
well-articulated career pathway to a job providing economic security.
(D) High employment growth in the occupational field or industry
cluster for which the student is being trained.
(g) The commission shall determine areas of occupational or
technical training that meet the criteria described in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (f) in consultation with the Employment Development
Department, the Economic and Workforce Development Division of the
Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and
the California Workforce Investment Board using projections available
through the Labor Market Information Data Library. The commission
may supplement the analyses of the Employment Development Department'
s Labor Market Information Data Library with the labor market
analyses developed by the Economic and Workforce Development Division
of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges
and the California Workforce Investment Board, as well as the
projections of occupational shortages and skills gap developed by
industry leaders. The commission shall publish, and retain, on its
Internet Web site a current list of the areas of occupational or
technical training that meet the criteria described in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (f), and update this list as necessary.
(h) The commission shall examine the graduation rates and job
placement data of eligible programs. Commencing with the 2014-15
academic year, the commission shall give priority to Cal Grant C
award applicants seeking to enroll in programs that rate high
in graduation rates and job placement data.
(i) (1) The commission shall consult with the Workforce
Services Branch of the Employment Development Department,
the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges,
the California Workforce Investment Board, and the local workforce
investment boards to develop a plan to publicize the existence of the
grant award program to the for
California's long-term unemployed. unemployed
to be used by those consulting agencies when they come in contact
with members of the population who are likely to be eligible.
(2) The commission shall consult with the Workforce Services
Branch of the Employment Development Department, the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the California
Workforce Investment Board, and the local workforce investment boards
to develop a plan to make students receiving awards aware of job
search and placement services available through the Employment
Development Department and the local workforce investment boards.
(j) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature on the
outcomes of the Cal Grant C Program program
on or before April 1, 2015, and on or before April 1 of each
odd-numbered year thereafter. This report shall include, but not
necessarily be limited to, information on all of the following, with
information on awards that are reserved for the long-term unemployed
provided separately:
(A) The age, gender, and segment of attendance for recipients in
two prior award years.
(B) The occupational and technical training program categories
prioritized.
(C) The number and percentage of students who received selection
priority as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f).
(D) The extent to which recipients in these award years were
successfully placed in jobs that meet local, regional, or state
workforce needs.
(2) For the report due on or before April 1, 2015, the commission
shall include data for two additional prior award years and shall
compare the mix of occupational and technical training programs and
institutions in which Cal Grant C award recipients
enrolled before and after implementation of subdivision (f).
(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2. 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.