BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2822 (Chiu) - Student financial aid: community college
students: emergency financial assistance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Version: August 3, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 1 |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Hearing Date: August 8, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill requires the California Community Colleges
(CCC) Chancellor's Office to provide guidelines for community
college districts or campuses that seek to establish student
emergency aid programs among the services they provide.
Fiscal
Impact:
Potentially significant Proposition 98 cost pressure for
community colleges to use state funds to provide student
emergency aid to the extent private funds do not materialize.
The CCC Chancellor's Office indicates that the costs to
develop the required guidelines would be minor.
AB 2822 (Chiu) Page 1 of
?
Background: According to the author, emergency aid provides 'just-in-time"
grants to students or quick infusions of funds when students
find themselves with unexpected costs such as medical expenses,
car repairs or child care. The author reports that three
community colleges, Pasadena City College, Grossmont Community
College, and Cuyamaca Community College have started such a
program since 2010. The author contends that this type of
assistance would further the ability of CCCs to retain students
by allowing grants for students who would otherwise be forced to
leave school because of these unforeseen financial challenges.
Proposed Law:
This bill requires the CCC Chancellor's Office to provide
guidelines for community college districts or campuses that seek
to establish student emergency aid programs among the services
they provide.
This bill provides that any funds that a community college
district, campus, or local community college foundation may
receive may be used for emergency student financial assistance
to help eligible students to overcome unforeseen financial
challenges. The challenges would include, but not be limited
to, the immediate need for shelter or food that would directly
impact the student's ability to persist in his or her course of
study. This bill requires a community college to consider the
unique characteristics of its student body in order to further
define what constitutes an unforeseen financial challenge for
its students.
This bill defines an "eligible student" as one who has
experienced an unforeseen financial challenge, who currently
meets satisfactory academic progress and who is at risk of not
persisting in his or her course of study due to the unforeseen
financial challenge.
This bill also defines "emergency student financial assistance"
as financial assistance to support a student to help overcome
unforeseen financial challenges so that the student can continue
his or her course of study.
AB 2822 (Chiu) Page 2 of
?
Staff
Comments: This bill requires the Chancellor's Office to develop
guidelines regarding the establishment of student emergency aid
programs for community colleges that seek to establish programs
among the supportive services and specialized programs they
provide. According to the CCC there are existing categorical
programs, such as the Extended Opportunity Programs and
Services, that have within their scope the ability to provide
emergency grants from these programs using state funds, though
this practice appears to be rare.
Though this bill provides the authority for community colleges
to solicit and accept private funding for the establishment of
these programs, it does not preclude the use of Proposition 98
General Fund. Therefore, to the extent community colleges seek
to establish such programs, as encouraged by this bill, and
private funding is unavailable, this could create a significant
state cost pressure.
This bill specifies that these programs would provide financial
assistance to students to help them overcome unforeseen
financial challenges that directly impact their ability to
persist in their course of study. This allows for broad
interpretation of what constitutes an unforeseen financial
challenge.
These programs are likely to be designed and administered
considerably differently by campus. However, the Pasadena City
College offers an example. It implements a program that
provides grants of up to $500 for certain eligible expenses such
as utilities, rent, medical and dental costs, or car expenses as
long as students take a minimum number of courses and maintain a
certain grade point average. Money for books or tuition-related
expenses is not permitted. The CCC enrolls about 2.1 million
students. To the extent 1 percent of the student population was
in need of a grant, cost pressures could reach about $10
million.
AB 2822 (Chiu) Page 3 of
?
-- END --