BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 206
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 206
(Mark Stone) - As Introduced January 29, 2015
SUBJECT: Student financial aid: California DREAM Work-Study
Program
SUMMARY: Establishes the California DREAM Work-Study Program
(Program) to be administered by the California Student Aid
Commission (CSAC). Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes, commencing with the 2016-17 fiscal year, the
Program under CSAC to provide financial aid for students
meeting eligibility requirements.
2)Establishes student eligibility requirements, as determined by
the institution of attendance, as follows:
a) Enrolled, or accepted for enrollment at a campus of the
California State University (CSU) or University of
California (UC);
b) Exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section
68130.5;
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c) Applied for financial aid under Section 69508.5;
d) Qualified under the income and need standards applied to
work-study programs by the institution in which the student
is enrolled or accepted for enrollment; and,
e) Meets additional eligibility requirements deemed
appropriate by the institution in which the student is
enrolled.
3)Requires CSAC to provide funding, as outlined below, upon
verification that a student is eligible for financial aid
under this article:
a) CSAC shall match 100% of the cost of the work-study
grant of a student whose Program work is accomplished on a
campus of the CSU or UC or at a campus or other facility of
a school district or community college (CCC) district.
b) CSAC shall match 50% of the cost of the work-study grant
of a student whose Program work is accomplished at a
location other than those specified above.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Qualifies for lower resident fee/tuition payments at the CCC,
CSU, and UC, a student who attended high school in California
for three (or equivalency) or more years, graduated (or
equivalency) from a California high school, enrolled at an
accredited institution of higher education in California not
earlier than the fall semester or quarter of 2001-02, and
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files an affidavit with the institution of higher education
stating that the student has filed an application to legalize
his or her immigration status or will file an application as
soon as he or she is eligible. These students are often
referred to as "AB 540 students". (Education Code Section
68130.5)
2)Establishes the California DREAM Act to provide state,
including the Cal Grant Program and the CCC Board of Governors
Fee Waiver, and institutional financial aid to students who
qualify the aforementioned exemption from non-resident
tuition, students must apply by March 2 prior to the academic
year; Dream Act recipients receive Cal Grant Entitlement
awards, but are not eligible for Competitive Cal Grant awards
unless funding remains available after eligible California
students have received awards. According to CSAC, in 2014-15,
38,473 students completed a Dream Act Application, 8,195
awards were offered, and 4,206 awards paid. (EDC Section
69508.5)
3)Establishes the California DREAM Loan Program intended to
provide low-interest loans to Dream Act students who are
accessing the Cal Grant program and attending UC and CSU.
These students are not eligible for federal student loans,
making it difficult for some to cover the total costs of
college. The law requires the state and UC and CSU to split
the costs of launching the program. The state would need to
provide about $4.7 million General Fund to begin the program.
In 2014, the Governor signed SB 1210 (Lara), Chapter 754, but
does not provide funding in the 2015-16 budget for the
program. (EDC Section 70030-70039)
4)Since 1986, a California State Work Study Program has existed
in statute to provide financially needy students with the
opportunity to earn money to help defray educational costs
while gaining experience in educationally beneficial or
career-related employment. The program was administered by
CSAC and was funded as a pilot program beginning in 1987. In
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1998, the program was expanded to include the Teaching Intern
Program, to make work-study funding available to offer
tutoring in various outreach activities for pupils. The
program has not been funded in recent years. (EDC Section
69950 - 69969.5)
5)The California Community College (CCC) CalWORKs Program
provides funds to CCCs to assist welfare recipient students
and those in transition from welfare to achieve long-term
economic self-sufficiency. The services provided through the
program include child care, academic and personal counseling,
work study, and job placement. Funds allocated for work study
are required to be used for payments to employers
participating in campus-based work study or are providing work
experiences directly related to the educational programs.
Payments may not exceed 75% of the wage for the position;
employers must pay at least 25%. In 2013-14, CCC CalWORKs
provided 5,303 work-study positions; 4,525 positions on-campus
and 778 off-campuses. (EDC Section 79200 - 79209)
FEDERAL LAW:
1)On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security, under
the direction of President Obama, announced the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, providing certain
people who came to the United States as children and meet
several guidelines authority to request consideration of
deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal.
They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action
is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action
against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred
action does not provide lawful status.
Individuals may request consideration of DACA if they meet the
following requirements:
a) Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
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b) Came to the United States before their 16th birthday;
c) Have continuously resided in the United States since
June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
d) Were physically present in the United States on June 15,
2012, and at the time of making the request for
consideration of deferred action;
e) Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012, meaning never had
a lawful immigration status on or before June 15, 2012, or
any lawful immigration status or parole obtained prior to
June 15, 2012, that had expired as of June 15, 2012;
f) Currently in school, have graduated or obtained a
certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a
General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or are
an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed
Forces of the United States; and,
g) Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant
misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not
otherwise pose a threat to national security or public
safety.
2)The Federal Work Study (FWS) Program provides funds for
part-time employment to help needy students finance higher
education. Students can receive FWS funds at 3,400
participating postsecondary institutions at hourly wages of at
least the federal minimum wage. Participating institutions
must apply annually to the US Department of Education (USDE)
to participate. Using a statutory formula, USDE allocates
funds based on prior year funding levels and the aggregate
need of prior year eligible students. Generally, the school
or employer pays up to 50% share of the student's wages;
however, in some cases, for example, FWS jobs as reading or
math tutors, the federal share of the wages may be as high as
100%. Institutions must use at least 7% of their FWS
allocation to support students working in community service
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jobs. Students apply for FWS assistance through the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). (Higher
Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part C; 42 U. S. C.
2751-2756b)
3)Federal immigration law prohibits an undocumented immigrant
from being eligible for postsecondary education benefits on
the basis of residence within a State if those benefits are
not available to citizens or nationals of the United States
who are nonresidents of that State. (Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Title 8,
Chapter 14, Section 1623(a)).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. According to the author,
federal law currently excludes undocumented students from any
federal financial aid, including the FSW Program. Some campuses
of the UC have been able to develop institutional work-study
grants for AB 540 students beginning in the fall of 2014, but
they lack an ongoing funding source moving forward. This
measure aims to ensure that UC and CSU students have access to
grants for work-study.
Review of prior California State Work-Study Program. As
previously noted, the California State Work-Study Program was
funded beginning in 1987. According to an independent review of
the pilot program conducted in 1990, of the 561 students
participating in the program at 15 institutions in 1987-88, the
vast majority obtained jobs related to their educational or
career goals. Over 80% of the students surveyed for the review
said either they would not have been able to attend high school
without the job, or that having a job made it more likely that
they would stay in school. The review found that students came
from low-income families with an average income of $18,200 for
dependent students and $7,795 for independent students. The
review found that the program would be a valuable addition to
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the State's financial aid programs and help students work rather
than take out student loans. This program has not been funded
in recent years.
FWS programs at UC and CSU. As previously noted, the FWS
provides funds for part-time employment to help needy students
finance higher education. Currently, all campuses of the CSU
and UC participate in FWS. According to information provided by
CSU and UC, existing funding provided under FWS does not provide
sufficient support to meet all students need.
Existing UC programs. In 2014-15, seven UC campuses were able
to offer institutionally funded work-study awards to AB 540
students with DACA status, and awards are typically about $2,000
for the year. Three of the seven campuses offered these
programs for the first time in the current year and at least two
of the campuses did so with one-time moneys, so it is unclear if
these programs will be able to continue in future years. For
2015-16, it is possible that only two to three campuses will be
able to continue these programs. As the population of AB 540
students with DACA status grows, there is concern that
institutional funding for these work-study programs will be
inadequate. There are no comparable work-study programs for AB
540 students at any CSU campuses.
Committee considerations. The committee may wish to consider
the following amendments:
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1)Consistent with the Author's intent, clarify that students
must have applied for financial aid using the Dream Act
Application:
On Page 2, strike lines 19-20 and insert:
(3) Make a timely application for financial aid using the
application established by the Student Aid Commission pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 69508.5, known as the Dream Act
Application.
2)The bill provides institutions with authority to establish
standards and eligibility requirements for participating
students and qualifying employment positions. The Committee
and Author may wish to establish minimum requirements
requiring: (a) students are ineligible for other work-study
programs; (b) students be undergraduate students and making
satisfactory academic progress; and, (c) students have federal
authorization to work.
3)According to information provided by CSAC, colleges and
universities are responsible for determining a student's AB
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540 eligibility and responsible for determining a student's
eligibility under the Dream Act. Committee staff understands
that it is the author's intent that CSU and UC would have
responsibility for determining student eligibility and
identifying placement for work study under this bill. As
there is an unclear role for CSAC, to reduce administrative
burden and cost, the author may wish to consider removing CSAC
and allowing CSU and UC to administer the program established
by this bill directly.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Dream Network
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
California State Student Association
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
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Scholars Promoting Education Awareness and Knowledge
31 Individuals
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960