AB 393, as introduced, Roger Hernández. Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the board of governors to appoint a chief executive officer, to be known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
This bill would establish the Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program, which would authorize the governing board of a community college district that has or intends to establish veteran resource centers on campuses within the community college district to apply to the chancellor for a grant for purposes of providing resources to veterans and active duty members of the Armed Forces of the United States enrolled at those campuses. The bill would establish the Veteran Resource Centers Grant Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would allocate moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, to the chancellor for, among other things, administration of the program and distribution of awards to recipient community college districts.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
2(a) More than 44,000 veterans and active duty service members
3enrolled at campuses of the California Community Colleges in the
42012-13 academic year.
5(b) Education is a tool for community college students to achieve
6economic success.
7(c) Veterans face unique challenges in achieving professional
8success, including posttraumatic stress disorder and assimilation
9to civilian life during and after serving on active duty.
10(d) The intent of the Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program
11is to help veterans
and active duty service members enrolled at
12campuses of the California Community Colleges achieve academic
13and professional success.
Part 52.7 (commencing with Section 88750) is added
15to Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
16
19
This part shall be known, and may be cited as, the
23Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program.
The Veteran Resource Centers Grant Fund is hereby
25established in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund, upon
26appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, shall
27be allocated to the chancellor for the implementation and
28administration of this part.
The governing board of a community college district
30that has or intends to establish veteran resource centers on
31campuses within the community college district may apply to the
32chancellor for a grant for purposes of providing resources to
33veterans and active duty members of the Armed Forces of the
34United States enrolled at those campuses to help them succeed
35academically.
The chancellor shall do the following:
37(a) Administer the program and distribute awards to recipient
38community college districts.
P3 1(b) Develop application criteria, administrative guidelines, and
2other requirements, by May 26, 2016, through a stakeholder process
3and public meetings, for purposes of administering the program.
4Those requirements may include the chancellor awarding funding
5priority to community college district applicants that commit to
6contributing an amount of funds in addition to the grant for
7purposes of developing or enhancing veteran resource centers on
8campuses within the community college district.
9(c) Submit a
report to the Legislature on the progress of the
10program on or before May 31, 2018.
11(d) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
12subdivision (c) is inoperative on June 1, 2022, pursuant to Section
1310231.5 of the Government Code.
14(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall
15be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
16Code.
O
99