BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2494
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|Author: |Roger Hernández |
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|Version: |May 27, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 22, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program
NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Veterans Affairs. A "do pass" motion should
include referral to the Committee on Veterans Affairs.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program
and the Veteran Resource Centers fund in the State Treasury for
purposes of providing resources to veterans and active duty
military enrolled at a California Community College (CCC)
campus.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
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" 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
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of that person and eligible to be claimed as a dependent on
federal or state tax returns.
(Education Code § 69785)
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 § 69786)
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the Veteran Resource Centers Grant Program
and the Veteran Resource Centers fund in the State Treasury for
purposes of providing resources to veterans and active duty
military enrolled at a California Community College (CCC)
campus. Specifically, it:
1) Authorizes a governing board of a community college
district and a community college campus at which a
Veteran's Resource Center has been or is intended to be
established to jointly apply to the chancellor for a grant
to provide resources to veterans and active duty members of
the Armed Forces of the United States enrolled at a CCC.
2) Requires the chancellor to:
a) Administer the program and distribute awards to
recipient community
college districts and campuses.
b) Develop application criteria, administrative
guidelines, and other
requirements, by May 26, 2017, through a stakeholder
process and public
meetings, for administering the program.
3) Establishes that an applicant who receives a grant award in
the first fiscal year that grants are awarded is not
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required to match the amount of the award.
4) Requires an applicant who receives a grant award in a
fiscal year following the first fiscal year grants are
awarded to match the amount of the award dollar-for-dollar.
5) Makes various findings and declarations relative to
veterans including, the unique challenges in achieving
professional success, including posttraumatic-stress
disorder and assimilation to civilian life during and after
serving on active duty; and, the intent of the Veterans
Resource Coordination Group Program to help veterans and
active duty service members enrolled at CCC campuses
achieve academic and professional success.
6) Sunsets the program on January 1, 2023.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. There are approximately 60,000 veterans
enrolled at a California community college. According to
the author, these students face unique challenges in their
transition back to civilian life and Veterans Resource
Centers offer specialized programs and services for
military students to ensure academic and personal success.
The author's office notes that, the California Community
Colleges Chancellor's Office in its review of existing
Veterans Resource Centers found that additional funding
sources are necessary in order to adequately accommodate
existing veteran students and to prepare for the increase
of veteran students in the near future. This bill seeks to
build on the success of existing efforts by encouraging,
through a grant program, a community college campus to
establish a Veterans Resource Center.
2) Existing efforts to support veteran students at a community
college campus. There is wide acknowledgment among the
California Community Colleges of the re-entry challenges
many student veterans face and colleges have recognized the
need to expand support services to help veterans
successfully integrate into college life. The Community
College Chancellor's office, in response to the growing
number of student veterans and to provide statewide
leadership and coordination to assist the colleges has lead
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several statewide efforts that includes; 1) appointing a
full-time Veteran Services Specialist, 2) hosting an annual
summit to share information and best practices for staff,
faculty and administrators who work with student veteran's
services 3) supporting the development and implementation
of a training program for faculty and staff to increase
awareness on military culture and challenges faced by many
community college student veterans through the
participation in the "Welcome Home Training Program," and;
4) supporting the development of Veterans Resource Center
project.
There are approximately 77 of 113 colleges with Veterans
Resource Centers that range in space and support services
but for the most part these centers help to facilitate
academic success and assist in psychosocial reintegration.
There is inconsistency in the level of support throughout
the system. This bill seeks to establish a grant program
thereby allowing more colleges to provide the services
necessary to meet the specific needs of this emerging
student population.
3) Program funding. Funding of the grant program is contingent
on an allocation made through the annual budget act. No
such funding was provided in the 2016 Budget Act.
1) Prior legislation. AB 393 (Roger Hernández, 2015) nearly
identical to this bill, would have established a grant
program to support California Community Colleges (CCC)
veterans' resource centers. AB 393 was held on the suspense
file in the Assembly Appropriations.
AB 421 (Calderon, 2015) would have, among others, required
the governing board of a community college district to
provide in each CCC within the district, a veterans
counselor. AB 421 was held on the Suspense File in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
Military Officers Association of America-California Council of
Chapters
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North Orange County Community College District
Veterans of Foreign Wars-Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America-California State Council
OPPOSITION
None received.
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