BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1028
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Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
SB 1028 (Jackson) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 28-9
SUBJECT : Student financial aid: Cal Grant C awards.
SUMMARY : Requires special consideration for Cal Grant C
awards, administered by the California Student Aid Commission
(CSAC), to be provided to specified socially or economically
disadvantaged students. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires special consideration be given to the social and
economic situations of students applying for Cal Grant C
awards, giving additional weight to disadvantaged applicants,
applicants who face economic hardship, and applicants who face
particular barriers to employment, with criteria including all
of the following:
a) Family income and household size;
b) Student or parent's household status, including whether
the student is a single parent or the child of a single
parent;
c) The employment status of the applicant and whether the
applicant is unemployed, giving greater weight to the
long-term unemployed.
2)Provides that Cal Grant C awards may be used for, in
additional to training and equipment costs, living expenses.
3)Requires CSAC to, when identifying areas of training where Cal
Grant C awards may be used, consult with the Economic and
Workforce Development Division of the California Community
Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCC EWD), the California
Workforce Investment Board (CWIB), and to the extent feasible,
representatives of leading competitive and emerging industry
clusters, workforce professionals, and career technical
educators to determine which occupational training programs
and industry clusters should be prioritized.
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4)Requires areas of occupational and technical training to be
updated by January 1, 2016.
5)Clarifies the job quality criteria for Cal Grant C award
prioritization to include jobs that are a part of a
well-articulated career pathway to a job providing economic
security, among other clarifying changes; and requires
programs to meet, at least, either the aforementioned criteria
or high salary and wage projection criteria.
6)Requires CSAC to consult with the Employment Development
Department (EDD), CCC EWD, and CWIB to publicize the existence
of the Cal Grant C award program and to make students
receiving awards aware of job search and placement services
available through EDD and local workforce investment boards.
7)Defines the following terms:
a) "Career pathway" means an identified series of
positions, work experiences, or educational benchmarks or
credentials that offer occupational and financial
advancement within a specified career field or related
fields over time.
b) "Economic security" means 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.
c) "Industry Cluster" means a geographic concentration or
emerging concentration of interdependent industries with
direct service, supplier, and research relationships, or
independent industries that share common resources in a
given regional economy or labor market. An industry cluster
is a group of employers closely linked by a common product
or services, workforce needs, similar technologies, and
supply chains in a given regional economy or labor market.
d) "Long-term unemployed" means a person who has been
unemployed for more than 26 weeks at the time of submission
to the commission of his or her application.
e) "Occupational or technical training" means that phase of
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education coming after the completion of a secondary school
program and leading toward recognized occupational goals
approved by the commission.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the Cal Grant C program, administered by CSAC to
assist with tuition and training costs at occupational or
vocational programs. The total number of Cal Grant C awards
is 7,761, the maximum award amount and the total amount of
funding is determined in the annual Budget Act.
2)Requires CSAC to consult with appropriate state and federal
agencies to develop areas of occupational and technical
training for which students may utilize Cal Grant C awards.
These areas of occupational and technical training are
required to be regularly reviewed and updated at least every
five years, beginning in 2012.
3)Requires CSAC to give priority in granting Cal Grant C awards
to students pursuing occupational or technical training in
areas that meet at least two of the following criteria: high
employment need, high employment salary or wage projections,
and high employment growth. CSAC is required to determine
areas of occupational or technical training that meet these
criteria in consultation with EDD using projections available
through the Labor Market Information Data Library.
4)Requires CSAC to examine the graduation rates and job
placement data of eligible programs, and commencing with the
2014-15 academic year, to give priority to Cal Grant C
applicants seeking to enroll in programs that rate high in
graduation rates and job placement data.
5)Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit a report
to the Legislature on the outcomes of the Cal Grant C program
on or before April 1, 2015, and on or before April 1 of each
odd-numbered year thereafter, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, potentially significant costs to CSAC to coordinate
with specified entities to identify priority occupational areas,
and to make application scoring changes and potentially
significant costs to develop and implement a plan to publicize
the Cal Grant Program to California's long-term unemployed.
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COMMENTS : Purpose of this bill . According to the author, the
aftermath of the most recent recession is notable for the
severity of long-term unemployment levels. In 2010,
approximately 45% of the unemployed in the U.S. has been
unemployed for six months or longer (the highest percentage
since the Great Depression), while in January 2014, long-term
unemployment remained at 2.5 times the national pre-crisis
average. California has one of the highest long-term
unemployment rates in the country. In February 2014, about
640,000 workers were unemployed for six months or longer.
The author notes that there is currently no training program
that specifically targets the long-term unemployed in
California, though there are training programs that they may
qualify for, like the Workforce Investment Act dislocated worker
program. That program typically provides access to short term
job training programs, but does so for only a very small
fraction of those who might benefit from the program. This bill
differs in that it specifically targets the long-term unemployed
and provides access to longer-term occupational training, up to
two years, and focuses on growth industries and occupations,
providing skills that are in demand by employers.
Background on Cal Grant C . Cal Grant C awards assist with
tuition and training costs for occupational, technical, and
vocational programs at Community Colleges, independent colleges,
or vocational/career schools. Funding is available for up to
two years, and programs must be at least four months long. The
award currently includes up to $547 for books, tools and
equipment, and up to $2,462 for tuition and fees.
In 2012-13, CSAC awarded 9,288 new and 5,876 renewal awards.
According to the CSAC, approximately 50% of eligible applicants
receive awards. Most (10,248) of the awards went to students
attending community colleges and 4,734 were awarded to students
attending private colleges. CSAC reports that 85% of recipients
are independent students and 64% earned less than $18,000
annually.
To be eligible for a Cal Grant C award, students must be
California residents, have United States or eligible noncitizen
status, complete US selective service requirements, enroll at
least half-time at an eligible California institution, maintain
satisfactory academic progress (defined by the institution) once
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enrolled, meet family income and asset ceilings, and not be in
default on any student loan or owe any federal or state grant
refund. There is no high school graduation requirement, minimum
grade point average or maximum age for recipients.
Awards are based on supplemental information provided by
applicants; applicants are scored based on work experience,
educational history, vocational aptitude, and occupational goal.
SB 451 (Price), Chapter 627, Statutes of 2011, requires CSAC to
give "priority" to students pursuing occupational or technical
training in areas that meet two of the following three criteria:
high employment need, high employment growth, and high wage.
Through consultation with EDD and the Labor Market Information
Data Library, the Director at the Center for Strategic Economic
Research, and the Dean of the Industry Partnership Practices
Unit at the Community College Chancellor's Office, CSAC
established the following priority occupations:
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
Carpenters
Computer Specialists
Computer Support Specialist
Cooks, Restaurant
Fire Fighters
Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Medical Secretaries
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
Registered Nurses
Suggested amendments . Committee staff recommends the following
amendments:
1)To clarify CSAC shall use the best available data regarding
graduation rates and job placement rates, and to allow CSAC to
use graduate salary information provided by CCC through the
Salary Surfer program:
Education Code §69439. (h) Using the best available data, t he
commission shall examine the graduation rates and job
placement or salary 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
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that rate high in graduation rates and job placement data.
2)To ensure CSAC has the ability to verify that an applicant
meets the "long-term unemployed" criteria, Committee staff
suggests amendments clarifying that EDD may provide
information to CSAC for this purpose:
Unemployment Insurance Code §1095. (af) To provide the
California Student Aid Commission with wage information in
order to verify the employment status of an individual
applying for Cal Grant C funding pursuant to Section 69439(c)
of the Education Code. The information shall be provided to
the extent permitted by federal law and regulations .
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
California Edge Coalition
California Hospital Association
California Labor Federation
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Community College League of California
The Institute for College Access and Success
Jewish Vocational Services of San Francisco
Service Employees International Union
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960