BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2009 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2009 (Lopez) As Amended May 31, 2016 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Higher |12-0 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, | | |Education | |Chávez, Irwin, | | | | |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | | | | |Linder, Low, | | | | |Santiago, Weber, | | | | |Williams | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |14-6 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Chang, | | | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Gallagher, Jones, | | | |Calderon, Daly, |Obernolte, Wagner | | | |Eggman, Eduardo | | | | |Garcia, Roger | | | | |Hernández, Holden, | | | | |Quirk, Santiago, | | | | |Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ AB 2009 Page 2 SUMMARY: Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU), and requests the University of California (UC), to create Dream Resource Liaisons and Centers on each campus, as specified; and, authorizes the governing boards of the segments to accept private funds to establish and operate the centers. Specifically, this bill: 1)Finds and declares the following intent of the Legislature: a) It is the intent of the Legislature to increase enrollment and graduation rates among students meeting the requirements of AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001, by requiring the designation of Dream Resource Liaisons and encouraging the creation of Dream Resource Centers at public institutions of higher education; b) It is estimated that each year approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools, and while California has been a leader in enacting innovative and bold laws to provide opportunities for undocumented youth to attain higher education, only 20% of these students attend college. Many undocumented youth and their families are unaware of recent policy changes, such as the enactment of AB 540, the California Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2011 (DREAM Act), and the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), that make college graduation more attainable. Currently, the majority of college campuses do not have a centralized location that provides specialized support services and resources for students meeting the requirements of AB 540; c) The creation of Dream Resource Centers would save staff time and resources by streamlining all available financial aid and academic opportunities for students meeting the AB 2009 Page 3 requirements of AB 540. These Dream Resource Centers would seek to empower and create a safe and welcoming environment for those students. These centers would increase enrollment, transfer, and graduation rates among this population; and, d) A number of college campuses have acknowledged the needs and challenges of these students and have created Dream Resources Centers. These include: the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Davis; the California State University, Los Angeles; the California State University, Fullerton; and the California State University, Northridge. These centers provide, among other things, informational workshops, legal clinics, information on programs available to undocumented immigrants, and peer mentoring and support services to increase awareness of existing programs and available resources, enhance professional development, and increase employment opportunities. 2)Requires the CCC and the CSU, and requests the UC, commencing with the 2017-18 academic year, to create Dream Resource Centers on each campus to assist students meeting requirements, as set forth the Education Code (EC) Section 68130.5 by streamlining access to all available financial aid and academic opportunities for those students. 3)Requires each campus of the CCC and CSU, and requests the UC, to ensure that it has a staff person designated as a Dream Resources Liaison who is knowledgeable in available financial aid, services, and academic opportunities for all students meeting the requirements pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 68130.5, including undocumented students. 4)Encourages each campus of the CCC, CSU, and UC, to place the AB 2009 Page 4 Dream Resources Liaison in the campus' extended opportunity programs and services office or the educational opportunity programs office, respectively, or the financial aid office. 5)Encourages the CCC, CSU, and UC to establish Dream Resource Centers on each of their respective campuses. 6)Specifies that the Dream Resources Centers may offer support services including, but not necessarily limited to: a) state and institutional financial aid assistance; b) academic counseling; c) peer support services; d) psychological counseling; e) referral services; and, f) legal services. 7)Specifies that this measure shall not be construed as encouraging the construction of new or separate space for Dream Resource Centers. 8)Specifies that Dream Resource Centers may be housed within existing student service or academic centers; and, the space in which a Dream Resource Liaison is located may be deemed a Dream Resource Center. 9)Authorizes the CCC Board of Governors, the CSU Trustees, and the UC Regents to seek and accept on behalf of the state any gift, bequest, devise, or donation whenever the gift and terms and conditions thereof will aid in the creation and operation of Dream Resource Centers for their respective systems. 10)Sunsets the measure on July 1, 2022. EXISTING LAW: AB 2009 Page 5 1)Qualifies for lower resident fee/tuition payments at the CCC, CSU, and UC, a student who attended high school in California for three (or equivalency) or more years, graduated (or equivalency) from a California high school, enrolled at an accredited institution of higher education in California not earlier than the fall semester or quarter of 2001-02, and files an affidavit with the institution of higher education stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status or will file an application as soon as he or she is eligible. These students are often referred to as "AB 540 students" (EC Section 68130.5). 2)Establishes the California DREAM Act to provide state, including the Cal Grant Program and the CCC Board of Governors Fee Waiver, and institutional financial aid to students who qualify the aforementioned exemption from non-resident tuition, students must apply by March 2 prior to the academic year; Dream Act recipients receive Cal Grant Entitlement awards, but are not eligible for Competitive Cal Grant awards unless funding remains available after eligible California students have received awards. According to CSAC, in 2014-15, 38,473 students completed a Dream Act Application, 8,195 awards were offered, and 4,206 awards paid (EC Section 69508.5). 3)Establishes the California DREAM Loan Program intended to provide low-interest loans to Dream Act students who are accessing the Cal Grant program and attending UC and CSU. These students are not eligible for federal student loans, making it difficult for some to cover the total costs of college. The law requires the state and UC and CSU to split the costs of launching the program. The state would need to provide about $4.7 million General Fund to begin the program. The Governor signed SB 1210 (Lara), Chapter 754, Statutes of 2014, but does not provide funding in the 2015-16 Budget for the program (EC Sections 70030-70039). AB 2009 Page 6 FEDERAL LAW: On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security, under the direction of President Obama, announced the DACA policy, providing certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines authority to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status. Individuals may request consideration of DACA if they meet the following requirements: 1)Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; 2)Came to the United States before their 16th birthday; 3)Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time; 4)Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making the request for consideration of deferred action; 5)Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012, meaning never had a lawful immigration status on or before June 15, 2012, or any lawful immigration status or parole obtained prior to June 15, 2012, that had expired as of June 15, 2012; 6)Currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a General AB 2009 Page 7 Educational Development certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and, 7)Have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)UC. No additional cost, as UC indicates it has established a center at every campus, though some are in shared spaces. 2)CSU. Four of CSU's 23 campuses have centers. It is unknown how many campuses would designate an existing staff as the liaison versus adding a new position. If ten campuses hired a full-time position, assuming $80,000 cost per campus, statewide costs would be $800,000 annually. It is assumed CSU campuses (and CCC campuses) could establish Dream Resources Centers within existing campus space (General Fund (GF)). 3)CCC. Assuming ongoing cost at the 113 campuses would average 75% of CSU costs, total CCC costs would be $6.8 million annually. To the extent a community college has already designated a liaison, the state mandate in this bill would nevertheless require the state to pay the ongoing costs for this position (GF-Prop. 98). COMMENTS: Need for this measure. According to the author, in a recent study conducted by the UndocuScholars Project, undocumented students expressed concerns and frustrations for the lack of knowledge that college faculty, staff, and administrators have regarding policies and services available for the undocumented students. The author contends that, AB 2009 Page 8 "Currently, there is no law that ensures that California public colleges and universities give adequate support to the undocumented student populations at their respective campuses to obtain their educational goals." This measure seeks to address the issue faced by undocumented collegiate students by creating a centralized space that said students will be able to utilize in order to access necessary resources and opportunities to ensure they succeed, regardless of their immigration status. Background. According to information provided by the author, it is estimated that each year approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools in the United States. Since the passage of AB 540 (Firebaugh) Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001, California Dream Act, DACA, and other pieces of legislation, college affordability has become more attainable for undocumented students in the state. The University of California at Los Angeles created the first resource center to serve undocumented students. Since that time, several other campuses of the UC and CSU have created resource centers. Previous legislation. AB 1366 (Lopez) of 2015, which is currently on the Senate Floor Inactive File, is similar in nature to this measure. Analysis Prepared by: Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0003264 AB 2009 Page 9