[Approved by Governor September 21, 2016. Filed with Secretary of State September 21, 2016.]
AB 801, Bloom. Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
(1) Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Among other things, the act requires the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to foster youth, as defined, or former foster youth, until the repeal of this provision on January 1, 2017.
This bill would enact the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act. The bill would delete the repeal date of, and thereby extend indefinitely, the above-referenced priority requirement, with respect to the California State University and community college districts, and the request for the granting of priority, with respect to the University of California. The bill would extend that priority requirement, and that request, to include homeless youth until January 1, 2020. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act set forth various duties and responsibilities for state entities, such as the California State University, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the Treasurer, with respect to federal assistance to higher education. Existing provisions of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program set forth the requirements for status as a “qualifying institution” whose students are eligible, if as individuals they meet pertinent program requirements, to receive Cal Grant awards.
This bill would require qualifying institutions, other than the University of California, which would be requested to do so, to designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison and to inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, as specified. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission and assigns to it numerous duties with respect to student financial aid programs, including the Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program and the Student Opportunity and Access Program. Both of these programs include provisions addressing the needs of youth from low-income households and specifically include low-income youth within the scope of the respective programs.
This bill would additionally place homeless youth, as defined, within the scope of these programs.
(4) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester, but authorizes the waiver of this fee for students meeting specified requirements.
This bill would add persons who are, at the time of enrollment, homeless youths, as defined, to the groups of persons eligible for this fee waiver. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 906, to be operative only if SB 906 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
(6) 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.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act.
Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or, until January 1, 2020, a homeless youth.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Foster youth” means a person who is currently in foster care, and “former foster youth” means a person who is an emancipated foster youth and who is 24 years of age or younger.
(2) “Homeless youth” means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i) A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii) The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii) A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c) For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
Section 66025.9 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a foster youth or former foster youth or, until January 1, 2020, homeless youth.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Foster youth and former foster youth” means a person in California whose dependency was established or continued by the court on or after the youth’s 16th birthday and who is no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of the academic year.
(2) “Homeless youth” means a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified at any time during the 24 months immediately preceding the receipt of his or her application for admission by a postsecondary educational institution that is a qualifying institution pursuant to Section 69432.7, as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:
(i) A homeless services provider, as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ii) The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program, or a designee of that director.
(iii) A financial aid administrator for an institution of higher education.
(c) For purposes of this section, a student who is verified as a homeless youth as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall retain that status for a period of six years from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational institution.
Section 67003.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
(a) A postsecondary educational institution that is a “qualifying institution,” as defined in Section 69432.7, shall do both of the following:
(1) Designate a staff member who is employed within the financial aid office, or another appropriate office or department, of the institution to serve as the Homeless and Foster Student Liaison. The Homeless and Foster Student Liaison shall be responsible for understanding the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act pertaining to financial aid eligibility of current and former foster youth and homeless youth, including unaccompanied homeless youth, and for identifying services available and appropriate for enrolled students who fall under one or more of these categories. The liaison shall assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
(2) Inform current and prospective students of the institution about student financial aid and other assistance available to homeless youth and current and former foster youth, including their eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the federal Higher Education Act, as that section read on December 31, 2015.
(b) The Regents of the University of California are requested to adopt policies that are, to the extent that is feasible, equivalent to the provisions of subdivision (a).
(c) The definitions of foster youth, former foster youth, and homeless youth in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9 shall apply to this section.
Section 69514.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The Community College Student Financial Aid Outreach Program is hereby established. The commission shall, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, develop and administer this program for the purpose of providing financial aid training to high school and community college counselors and advisers who work with students planning to attend or attending a community college. This training shall also address the specific needs of all of the following:
(1) Community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education.
(2) Foster youth and former foster youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(3) Homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(4) Students with disabilities.
(b) The program shall provide specialized information on financial aid opportunities available to community college students, with a particular focus on students who plan to transfer to a four-year college or university. The commission shall work in collaboration with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and other segments of higher education to develop and distribute this specialized information to assist community college students who are planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. Each year, the program shall offer financial aid workshops for high school and community college counselors, targeted for students planning to attend a community college or to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution of higher education. The program shall assist community college counselors in conducting student and family workshops that provide general information about financial aid and technical assistance in completing financial aid forms.
(c) The program shall concentrate its efforts on high schools and community colleges that are located in geographic areas that have a high percentage of low-income families.
Section 69561 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The Student Opportunity and Access Program is administered by the Student Aid Commission.
(b) The Student Aid Commission may apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the following elementary and secondary school pupils:
(1) Pupils who are from low-income families.
(2) Pupils who would be the first in their families to attend college.
(3) Pupils who are from schools or geographic regions with documented low-eligibility or college participation rates.
(4) Pupils who are homeless youth, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(c) These projects shall primarily do all of the following:
(1) Increase the availability of information for these pupils on the existence of postsecondary schooling and work opportunities.
(2) Raise the achievement levels of these pupils so as to increase the number of high school graduates eligible to pursue postsecondary learning opportunities.
(d) Projects may assist community college students in transferring to four-year institutions, to the extent that project resources are available.
(e) Projects may provide assistance to low-income fifth and sixth grade pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school and complete college preparatory courses.
(f) Projects may provide assistance to low-income middle and high school pupils and their parents in order to implement outreach efforts designed to use the future availability of financial assistance as a means of motivating pupils to stay in school by promoting career technical education public awareness. Projects shall promote the value of career technical education, available career programs in public schools and postsecondary segments with sequenced courses beginning in high school and continuing into postsecondary education, and the resulting career opportunities.
(g) Each project shall be proposed and operated through a consortium that involves at least one secondary school district office, at least one four-year college or university, at least one community college, and at least one of the following agencies:
(1) A nonprofit educational, counseling, or community agency.
(2) A private vocational or technical school accredited by a national, state, or regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(h) The commission, in awarding initial project grants, shall give priority to proposals developed by more than three eligible agencies. Projects shall be located throughout the state in order to provide access to program services in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
(i) The governing board of each project, comprising at least one representative from each entity in the consortium, shall establish management policy, provide direction to the project director, set priorities for budgetary decisions that reflect the specific needs of the project, and assume responsibility for maintaining the required level of matching funds, including solicitations from the private sector and corporate sources.
(j) Prior to receiving a project grant, each consortium shall conduct a planning process and submit a comprehensive project proposal to include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) The agencies participating in the project.
(2) The pupils to be served by the project.
(3) The ways in which the project will reduce duplication and related costs.
(4) The methods for assessing the project’s impact.
(k) Each project shall include the direct involvement of secondary school staff in the daily operations of the project, with preference in funding to those projects that effectively integrate the objectives of the Student Opportunity and Access Program with those of the school district in providing services that are essential to preparing pupils for postsecondary education.
(l) Each project shall maintain within the project headquarters a comprehensive pupil-specific information system on pupils receiving services through the program in grades 11 and 12 at secondary schools within the participating districts. This information shall be maintained in a manner consistent with the law relating to pupil records.
(m) At least 30 percent or the equivalent of each project grant shall be allocated for stipends to peer advisers and tutors who meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Work with secondary school pupils.
(2) Are currently enrolled in a college or other postsecondary school as an undergraduate or graduate student.
(3) Have demonstrated financial need for the stipend.
(n) Each project should work cooperatively with other projects in the program and with the commission to establish viable student services and sound administrative procedures and to ensure coordination of the activities of the project with existing educational opportunity programs. The Student Aid Commission may develop additional regulations regarding the awarding of project grants and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the individual projects.
Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.
(b) (1) The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2) The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c) For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d) The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e) The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2) California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3) Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f) The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g) (1) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets all of the following requirements:
(A) Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B) Meets one of the following criteria:
(i) At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii) Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii) Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv) At the time of enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(2) (A) The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i) Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii) Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii) A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B) To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A) Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B) Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C) A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5) The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B) How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C) The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. “Active service of the state,” for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if that dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1) The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2) The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k) A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l) (1) “Dependent,” for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(2) From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 1992-93 fiscal year.
(n) The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing this section.
(o) This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is operative.
Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 66025.9 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 906. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, (2) each bill amends Section 66025.9 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 906, in which case Section 2 of this bill shall not become operative.
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.
O
92