BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 421
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 421
(Calderon) - As Introduced February 19, 2015
[Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Veterans
Affairs Committee and will be heard as it relates to issues
under its jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT: Community colleges: veterans counselor
SUMMARY: Requires the governing board of a community college
district to provide in each California Community College (CCC)
within the district, a veterans counselor; and, requires the CCC
Board of Governors (BOG) to adopt regulations to establish and
maintain the minimum qualifications for services as a veterans
counselor.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the California State University (CSU) and the CCC and
encourages the University of California (UC) to coordinate
services for qualified students who are veterans or members of
the military by clearly designating Military and Veterans
Offices and individuals to provide specified services to
qualified students. Current law defines "qualified student"
AB 421
Page 2
as a student who is any of the following: an active duty
member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the
California National Guard, a reserve component of the Armed
Forces of the Unites States, a veteran of the Armed Forces of
the United States, and/or a family member of a person (as
described above) who is a legal dependent under 28 years of
age or living in the household of that person and eligible to
be claimed as a dependent on federal or state tax returns
(Education Code Section 69785).
2)Requests the UC, CSU, the CCC to report annually to the
California Department of Veterans Affairs the number of
qualified students assisted by a Military and Veterans Office;
the number of qualified students assisted who are active duty
members of the Armed Forces of the United States, the
California National Guard, or a reserve component of the Armed
Forces of the United States, or are veterans of the Armed
Forces of the United States; and the total education benefits
by all qualified students assisted by an office (EC Section
69786).
3)Requires the CCC BOG to adopt regulations to establish and
maintain the minimum qualifications for service as a faculty
member teaching credit instruction, a faculty member teaching
noncredit instruction, a librarian, a counselor, an
educational administrator, an extended opportunity programs
and services worker, a disabled students programs and services
worker, an apprenticeship instructor, and a supervisor of
health (EC Section 87356).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Purpose of the measure. According to the author,
"While the State of California and the CCC have made strides
recently in the area of reintegrating veterans to civilian life
AB 421
Page 3
and addressing their educational needs, the State of California
can do more to ensure student veterans are adequately prepared
to meet their educational goals. Currently 54 CCC campuses have
Veterans Resource Centers [VRC] which provide an environment for
student veterans to relax and unwind with other students that
have shared their experiences. Still, nearly half of CCC
campuses do not have a VRC; with student-to-counselor ratios
hovering around 719:1, it is easy for student veterans to get
lost in the fray of overcrowded campuses and the difficulty of
navigating the transfer process."
The author contends that, "By requiring each CCC campus to
employ at least one academic counselor specified for student
veterans, AB 421 will ensure a minimum level of services for
student veterans at each community college campus."
Current student veterans outreach. According to the California
Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), with an estimated 1.8
million veterans residing in California, our state has the
largest population of veterans in the nation. According to the
CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), many of the increasing number
of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will look to one
of the 112 community colleges as the most easily accessible and
affordable educational option available. More than 60,000
veterans and active duty service members enrolled at a CCC in
2013-14. The CCCs serve nearly five times the combined number
of student veterans enrolled at the University of California
(UC) and the California State University (CSU) systems.
The CCCs are providing more services to a growing population of
student veterans; the CCCCO recognizes the need for continued
support of our student veterans and as such has been the lead on
several statewide projects, including:
1)Veterans Resource Center Project: At VRCs student veterans can
interact with one another and obtain information and services.
The CCCCO partnered with the High Tech Center Training Unit at
AB 421
Page 4
De Anza College (in Cupertino, CA) to offer free hardware,
software and onsite training in assistive technology to colleges
that promote academics, camaraderie, and wellness; provide a
dedicated space for student veterans; and offer coordinated
services such as financial aid and counseling to veterans. As a
r2)esult, 24 additional colleges have established a VRC on their
campus.
To note, because the individual campuses do not have to report
to the CCCCO whether they have a VRC, it is presently unknown
the exact number of campuses that have VRCs, however, it is
estimated that at least half of the CCCs have a VRC.
Additionally, VRCs are staffed by either full-time employees or
a mix of volunteers and student mentors.
3)Zellerbach Family Foundation Project: "Welcome Home: Creating
a Campus Community of Wellness for Returning Veterans: In March
2010, the CCCCO received a $75,000 grant from the Zellerbach
Family Foundation to support the development and implementation
of a training program for faculty and staff to increase
awareness on military culture, posttrau4)matic stress disorder
(PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and depression in order
that faculty and staff can better understand the challenges
faced by many community college student veterans. The training
has been provided at 21 colleges and six statewide conferences
since its inception.
5)Veterans Summit: In December 2014, the CCCCO co-hosted the
fourth Veterans Summit in San Jose, California. Topics at the
summit included VA benefits and education plans, creating
Veterans Resource Centers, women veterans, academic counseling,
AB 421
Page 5
best practices in serving student veterans, mental health issues
confronting veterans and accessing federal, state and local
resources.
Additionally, according to CalVet, they work very closely with
the CCCCO in the Summit and with several local campuses on
veteran issues, including the VRCs.
6)Regional Representation Structure: The CCCCO has organized a
Veteran Services Regional Advisory Committee and hosts regular
meetings of this group to better identify student veteran needs
across the system and encourage the exchange of innovative ideas
and effective practices for serving them. The Committee met
twice in 2012, three times in 2013, and four times in 2014. In
addition to meeting in person quarterly, the committee holds
recurring monthly conference calls.
7)System-wide Email List: The CCCCO established an internal
system-wide email list, through which it communicates
information and reports relating to veterans and veterans'
services to each of the 112 CCCs and designated college staff.
This list provides a way to promptly disseminate urgent and
important information to all veteran programs and service
providers at each college, and serves as a forum for the
exchange of ideas between colleges about issues related to
student veterans.
Committee considerations. This measure tasks the governing board
of a community college district with providing in each college
within the district, a veterans counselor. This measure presently
does not include a date by which the governing boards shall add a
AB 421
Page 6
counselor nor does it give into account that some CCCs do not have
large numbers of student veterans, thus creating cost pressures
for some campuses to unnecessarily hire a veteran specific
counselor.
Committee staff recommends the following amendment: The governing
board of a community college district shall, on or before 01 July
2018, provide each college, within the district a veterans
counselor, to campuses with 200 or more enrolled student veterans,
as defined by the California Community Colleges Board of
Governors.
Additionally, current law is silent as to the definition of a
veterans counselor. While the committee amendments task the CCC
BOG with developing a definition of a veterans counselor, it is
important to provide some specificity as to what the definition
should entail.
Committee staff recommends the following amendment: EC 87356
(new b) - When the board of governors adopts regulations to
establish and maintain the minimum qualifications for service as
a veterans counselor, the board of governors shall consider, but
not necessarily be limited to all of the following when
establishing the minimum qualifications: Definition and role of
a veterans counselor, including but not limited to, a person who
has demonstrated experience of the unique social and
psychological needs of veterans students; knowledge about
AB 421
Page 7
Veterans Educational Benefits (GI Bill), and Veterans Affairs;
experience in designing and preparing Veteran Student
Educational Plans for community college student veterans;
knowledge of California Community College Student Success and
Support Programs; ability to use a broad range of technology
pertaining to data collection and analysis for student success;
experience in developing and presenting counseling related
workshops and orientation sessions; ability to effectively serve
as a liaison, communicate effectively with faculty, staff, and
external community veteran resource providers concerning veteran
specific issues, learning processes, combat stress injuries,
moral injuries, trauma, traumatic brain injuries, and other
disabilities; and, knowledge of occupational opportunities and
internships for veterans, community agencies, and other
organizations serving students who are veterans, issues facing
veterans, and state and federal guidelines and services to
veterans.
Related legislation. AB 393 (Hernández), which will be heard by
this Committee today, would, among other things, create the
Veteran Resource Centers Grant (VRCG) Program and the VRCG Fund
housed in the State Treasury.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Legion-Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
AB 421
Page 8
California College and University Police Chiefs
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
AB 421
Page 9