BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 801
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
801 (Bloom)
As Amended August 17, 2016
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |61-13 |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: |36-1 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY: Enacts the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher
Education Act.
The Senate amendments:
1)Update the definition of homeless youth to align with the
federal definition.
2)Specify that a student who is verified as a homeless youth, as
defined, shall retain that status for a period of six years
from the date of admission to the postsecondary educational
institution.
AB 801
Page 2
3)Eliminate the residency determination entitlement to students
who have been determined to be homeless anytime during the
prior two years, as specified.
4)Require the California State University (CSU) and each
community college district (CCD) and request the University of
California (UC), until January 1, 2020, to grant priority
registration for enrollment to a homeless youth.
5)Double-joint this measure to Senate Bill 906 (Beall) of the
current legislative session.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, until January 1, 2017, the CSU and each CCD and
requests the UC, with respect to each campus in their
respective jurisdictions that administers a priority
enrollment system, to grant priority registration for
enrollment of current or former foster youth (Education Code
(EC) Section 66025.9).
2)Establishes the Community College Student Financial Aid
Outreach Program, which, among other things, provides
financial aid training to high school and community college
counselors and advisors who work with students planning to
attend or attending a California Community College (CCC). The
training addresses the specific needs of all of the following:
a) CCC students intending to transfer to a four-year
institution of higher education; b) foster youth; and, c)
students with disabilities (EC Section 69514.5).
3)Authorizes, the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) as
the administrators of the Student Opportunity and Access
Program, to apportion funds on a progress payment schedule for
the support of projects designed to increase the accessibility
AB 801
Page 3
of postsecondary educational opportunities for any of the
following elementary and secondary school pupils: a) pupils
who are from low-income families; b) pupils who would be the
first in their families to attend college; and, c) pupils who
are from schools or geographic regions with documented
low-eligibility or college participation rates (EC Section
69561).
4)Waives the $46 per unit per semester from certain CCC students
if, after meeting minimum academic and progress standards
adopted by the CCC Board of Governors (BOG), meet one of the
following criteria: a) at the time of enrollment are
recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance
program; b) demonstrates eligibility according to income
standards established by regulations of the CCC BOG; c)
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; d) 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; e) any student who is the surviving spouse or the
child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who qualified
for the fee waiver; and, f) 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, as specified, and either of the following
applies: i) the dependent was a resident of California on
September 11, 2001; and, ii) the individual killed in the
attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001 (EC
Section 76300).
AB 801
Page 4
FEDERAL LAW: Defines the term "homeless children and youth" to
mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not limited
to, the following: 1) children and youth who are sharing the
housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic
hardship, or a similar reason; 2) are living in motels, hotels,
trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
adequate accommodations; 3) are living in emergency or
transitional shelters; 4) are abandoned in hospitals; 5) are
awaiting foster care placement; 6) have a primary nighttime
residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings; and, 7) are living in cars, parks, public spaces,
abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations,
or similar settings (42 United States Code Section 11301, et
seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)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).
2)Likely minor costs to the CCC to update the BOG Fee Waiver
form and other related materials. Costs pressures related to
waiving student enrollment fees for homeless youth are
expected to be minor as these students are likely to qualify
based on income criteria (Proposition 98).
3)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.
4)The UC anticipates no additional costs to implement this bill.
AB 801
Page 5
COMMENTS: Background. According to the National Association
for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY),
college homelessness is a serious issue that is often
overlooked; there exists an assumption that if someone is
homeless, he/she is so focused on basic needs like food and
shelter that school is not a concern. However, NAEHCY contends
that for homeless youth, education is the answer to providing
homeless youth means to be able to enter into the work force,
earn a living, and no longer be homeless.
To note, there is no concrete estimate for the number of
homeless college students nationwide, but 58,158 college
applicants indicated that they were homeless on federal
financial aid forms for the 2012-13 academic year (most recent
data available to date); which, according to NAEHCY, is up 8%
from 53,705 in the previous year, according to federal data.
NAEHCY argues that the number is likely understated, since some
students may be staying in a car, relatives' or fellow
classmates' couches, or motels, and do not realize they are
technically homeless, or do not want to admit to it.
Additionally, California has the highest rate of homeless youth
in the nation and twice the rate of homeless students as the
national average (4% in California vs. 2% nationally).
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, in the
2012-13 school year, in California, there were 18,000 homeless
pupils in grade 12 alone; yet only 10,208 California college
students in total indicated a status of being homeless and
unaccompanied. The author contends that the data indicates that
many homeless youth are not matriculating into higher education
and/or are not receiving the financial aid to which they are
entitled. The author states, "This bill seeks to address state
barriers to financial assistance for homeless youth." This
measure will also bring parity among current and former homeless
youth to that of current and former foster youth, who already
AB 801
Page 6
receive some exemptions and waivers in current law (e. g.
priority enrollment status).
Analysis Prepared by:
Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
FN: 0004910