AB 2506, as amended, Thurmond. Student financial aid: Chafee grant awards.
Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the state agency primarily responsible for the administration and coordination of student financial aid programs at California postsecondary educational institutions. Existing federal law establishes the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program for the purposes of providing financial aid to current and former foster youth who are attending qualifying postsecondary educational institutions.
This billbegin delete would, to the extent permitted by federal law, establish the standards to be met by postsecondary educational institutions,end delete commencing with the 2017-18 academic year,begin delete in order to be deemed to be qualifying institutions in this state with respect to the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program.end deletebegin insert
would make a new Chafee grant award to a student only if the student attends a qualifying institution that is eligible for participation in the Cal Grant Program pursuant to a specified provision of the Cal Grant Program enabling act or if the student attends an institution that is not located in California that satisfies a specified provision of the Cal Grant Program enabling act.end insert
The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the memorandum of understanding entered into between the State Department of Social Services and the Student Aid Commission for the administration of the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program be amended to reflect the provisions of this bill. The bill would provide that, notwithstanding any of its other provisions, an individual who has received a Chafee grant award for the 2016-17 academic year, and is enrolled at a postsecondary educational institution in this state, would be entitled to use a Chafee grant award for as long as he or she is enrolled at that institution and is making reasonable progress toward graduation or toward otherwise completing his or her course of study at that institution.
end deleteVote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 69519 of the end insertbegin insertEducation Codeend insertbegin insert is amended
2to read:end insert
(a) The commission, through an interagency agreement
4with the State Department of Social Services, currently operates
5a federally funded scholarship program that provides grant aid to
6provide access to California’s current and former foster youth to
7postsecondary education. Funds provided through an appropriation
8by the Legislature shall be supplemental to funds provided by the
9federalbegin delete governmentend deletebegin insert government,end insert and are designated to ensure
10program availability in the absence of and prior to the annual
11receipt of federal funds for this purpose.
12(b) Funds provided for this program shall be used to assist
13students who are current and former foster youth, for career and
14technical training or traditional college courses. The commission
15shall operate this program in accordance with the program
P3 1instructions provided by the federal Department of Health and
2Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, and
3the program guidelines developed by the State Department of
4Social Services.
5(c) The total amount of funding and the amount of individual
6awards shall depend upon the amount of federal funding provided
7in addition to state funding. The commission, in conjunction with
8the State Department of Social Services, shall determine the
9individual award amounts and total number of students awarded
10on an annual basis as the amount of total annual funding is
11determined.
12
(d) Commencing with the 2017-18 award year, the commission
13shall make a new Chafee grant award to a student only if the
14student attends either of the following:
15
(1) A qualifying institution that is eligible for participation in
16the Cal Grant Program pursuant to Section 69432.7.
17
(2) An institution that is not located in California that satisfies
18the provisions of subparagraphs (C) and (F) of paragraph (3) of
19subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
21following:
22(a) There are 66,000 children and youth in California’s foster
23care system who have been removed from their biological families
24due to maltreatment and placed into the care and custody of the
25State of California.
26(b) (1) The Legislature recognizes the historic
27underrepresentation of foster youth in postsecondary programs
28and the need for equitable efforts that enhance the enrollment and
29retention of foster youth in public colleges and universities in
30California.
31(2) Current and former foster youth who attend college
32experience a low rate of persistence, transfer, and degree
33completion. Foster youth are 85 percent less likely to successfully
34complete 30 units or more anytime during community college as
35compared to the general student population.
36(c) The Legislature recognizes the importance of quality
37education, and has taken action in the past to ensure financial aid
38is directed to postsecondary institutions at which the graduation
39rate and cohort default rate reflect a reasonable likelihood of
40student graduation and success.
Section 69518.5 is added to the Education Code, to
2read:
(a) To the extent permitted by federal law, this section
4establishes the standards for postsecondary educational institutions
5to be classified as qualifying institutions in this state for purposes
6of the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program
7authorized by the federal Promoting Safe and Stable Families
8Amendments of 2001 (Public Law 107-133).
9(b) In accordance with subdivision (a), for purposes of the
102017-18 academic year and each academic year thereafter, the
11following standards shall apply in determining an institution’s
12eligibility for the use of initial and renewal Chafee grant awards
13by its students:
14(1) An otherwise qualifying institution with a three-year cohort
15default rate that is equal to or greater than 15.5 percent, as certified
16by the commission on October 1, 2017, and on October 1 of any
17year thereafter, shall be ineligible for the use of initial and renewal
18Chafee grant awards at the institution.
19(2) (A) An otherwise qualifying institution that becomes
20ineligible under this subdivision for initial and renewal Chafee
21grant awards may regain its eligibility for the academic year
22following an academic year in which it satisfies the requirements
23established in paragraph (1) or (4), as applicable.
24(B) If the United States Department of Education corrects or
25revises an institution’s three-year cohort default rate or graduation
26rate that
originally failed to satisfy the requirements established
27in paragraph (1) or (4), as applicable, and the correction or revision
28results in the institution’s three-year cohort default rate or
29graduation rate satisfying those requirements, that institution shall
30immediately regain its eligibility for the academic year to which
31the corrected or revised three-year cohort default rate or graduation
32rate would have been applied.
33(3) An otherwise qualifying institution for which no three-year
34cohort default rate or graduation rate has been reported by the
35United States Department of Education shall be provisionally
36eligible for Chafee grant awards until a three-year cohort default
37rate or graduation rate has been reported for the institution by the
38United States Department of Education.
39(4) An otherwise qualifying institution with a graduation rate
40of 30 percent or less for students taking 150 percent or less of the
P5 1expected time to complete degree requirements, as reported by the
2United States Department of Education and as certified by the
3commission, shall be ineligible for the use of initial and renewal
4Chafee grant awards at the institution.
5(5) Notwithstanding any other law, the requirements of this
6subdivision do not apply to institutions with 40 percent or less of
7undergraduate students borrowing federal student loans, using
8information reported to the United States Department of Education
9for the academic year two years before the year in which the
10commission is certifying the three-year cohort default rate or
11graduation rate.
12(c) The commission shall do both of the following:
13(1) Notify initial recipients seeking to attend, or attending, an
14institution that is ineligible for initial and renewal Chafee grant
15awards under paragraph (1) or (4) of subdivision (b) that the
16institution is ineligible, under state standards, for the use of initial
17awards for the academic year for which the student received an
18initial award.
19(2) Notify renewal recipients attending an institution that is
20ineligible, under state standards, for initial and renewal Chafee
21grant awards at the institution under paragraph (1) or (4) of
22subdivision (b).
23(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the memorandum of
24understanding entered into between the
State Department of Social
25Services and the Student Aid Commission for the administration
26of the Chafee Educational and Training Voucher program be
27amended to reflect the provisions of this section.
28(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
29individual who has (1) received a Chafee grant award for the
302016-17 academic year, and (2) is enrolled at a postsecondary
31educational institution in this state, shall be entitled to use a Chafee
32grant award for as long as he or she is enrolled at that institution
33and is making reasonable progress toward graduation or toward
34otherwise completing his or her course of study at that institution.
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