BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 801 (Bloom) - Postsecondary education: Success for Homeless
Youth in Higher Education Act
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|Version: June 1, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill, among other things: (1) requires the
extension of priority enrollment to homeless youth or former
homeless youth at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and
the California State University (CSU) and requests that the
University of California (UC) make this same extension; (2)
requires designation of a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison,
as specified; (3) requires the waiver of per unit fees for this
population at the community colleges; (4) establishes residency
status for this population, as specified; and (5) includes these
students in the California Student Aid Commission's (CSAC)
training and outreach programs.
Fiscal
Impact:
The CCC anticipates one-time costs of $11.3 million and
ongoing costs of up to about $8.3 million. Activities
include: modifications to electronic systems to make changes
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in financial aid calculations and modifications to residency
verification processes. These costs may be determined to be
reimbursable as a state mandate. (Proposition 98)
The CSU indicates the need redirect staff to fulfill the
liaison requirement which would likely equate to a part-time
position for each campus, resulting in statewide costs between
$782,000 and $1.2 million. (General Fund)
The CSAC indicates costs to incorporate homeless youth into
training and outreach programs to be absorbable. However, if
this population is larger than anticipated, there could be a
need for additional staffing resources.
The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
Background: Federal law defines the term "homeless children and youth" to
mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence, as specified. (42 United States Code §
11301, et seq.)
Federal law defines "homeless youth", under Section 725 of the
federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to mean a person
who is 24 years of age or younger and who has been determined to
be homeless at any time during the current calendar year; and,
defines "former homeless youth" to mean a person who is 24 years
of age or younger, and who, while not currently homeless, has
been determined to be homeless, at any time in the immediately
preceding six calendar years by various entities, as specified.
State law also requires a community college governing board to
charge each student a $46 per unit fee per semester. Existing
law makes this fee requirement not apply to noncredit courses
and specified student groups, and authorizes the governing board
to exempt certain student groups from this fee. (EC § 76300)
Proposed Law:
This bill requires the CSU and each community college
district, and requests the UC, to afford current and former
homeless youth certain enrollment and financial assistance and
guidance benefits for postsecondary education. This bill's
requirements become inoperable on January 1, 2020.
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Specifically, this bill requires, and requests the UC, to grant
enrollment priority registration to a homeless or former
homeless youth for campuses that administers a priority
enrollment system. Current law provides this benefit to foster
youth.
Postsecondary educational institutions that qualify for Cal
Grants are required to do the following:
Designate a staff member to serve as the Homeless and Foster
Student Liaison. The liaison is required to understand
federal law relating to financial aid eligibility of current
and former foster and homeless youth; identify available and
appropriate services for these students; and assist them in
applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and
available services.
Inform current and prospective students about student
financial aid and other assistance available to current and
former homeless and foster youth, including their eligibility
as independent students, pursuant to federal law.
This bill also:
Requires a student to be entitled to resident classification
if the student has been determined to be homeless at any time
during the two years immediately preceding the residency
classification determination if the student currently lives in
California and is 19 years old or under at the time of
enrollment.
Expands training requirements for high school and community
college counselors and advisors under the Community College
Student Financial Aid Outreach Program to include training to
address the needs of homeless and former homeless youth.
Adds homeless youth and former homeless youth to the student
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groups that may be served under the CSAC's Student Opportunity
and Access Program which apportions funds for projects
designed to expand access to postsecondary educational
opportunities for certain disadvantaged students.
Expands the list of students whose fees are required to be
waived by a community college governing board to include a
current or former homeless youth.
Staff Comments: Most homeless students are likely to be exempt
from community colleges fees through established income
standards. Therefore any associated costs are anticipated to be
minor.
Substantial costs identified by the CCC appear to be driven by
the definition of former homeless youth which applies to those
who had been identified as homeless in the preceding six years.
This definition conflicts with their eligibility as independent
students for financial aid purposes. For the 2015-16 Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), independent status
was allowed for homeless individuals at any time on or after
July 1, 2014 (one year). As an independent student, students
report their own information on the FAFSA, whereas dependent
students report their parent's information.
This conflict would likely require colleges to process state aid
using a different standard than that used by the federal
government for financial aid purposes and modify their
electronic records processing systems to calculate state aid.
There are also costs attributed to changing the fee waiver
processing system, which is largely automated by student FAFSA
filing, but this work would likely be incorporated with other
electronic system changes.
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