Senate Bill No. 893

Introduced by Senator Nguyen

(Principal coauthor: Senator Leyva)

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Obernolte, and Steinorth)

(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Fuller, Huff, and Runner)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Lackey and Mayes)

January 20, 2016

An act to amend Section 76300 of, and to add Section 68121.5 to, the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 893, as introduced, Nguyen. Postsecondary education: tuition and fees.

Existing law requires the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Trustees of the California State University, and the governing board of each community college district to collect fees from students attending those postsecondary education institutions. This provision is applicable to the Regents of the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable.

This bill would prohibit the regents, the trustees, and the governing board of each community college district from collecting any fees or tuition of any kind from a student in an undergraduate program who is the surviving dependent, as defined, of any individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, if the dependent meets the financial need requirements of the Cal Grant A Program and the dependent was a resident of California on December 2, 2015, or if the individual killed in the attack was a resident of California on that date. The bill would require the governing board of each community college district to waive fee requirements for any student in an undergraduate program who is a surviving dependent. The bill would require the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to identify all persons who are eligible for tuition and fee waivers pursuant to the bill, to notify these persons or their parents or guardians of that eligibility, and, if requested by the public segments of postsecondary education in the state, on a case-by-case basis, to confirm the eligibility of persons requesting the waiver of tuition and fees. This prohibition would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) On December 2, 2015, a terrorist attack occurred at the
Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino County in which 14
people were killed and 21 people were injured.

(b) President Obama’s speech from the oval office stated that
the San Bernardino attack was “an act of terrorism designed to kill
innocent people.”

(c) Governor Brown proclaimed a state of emergency to assist
San Bernardino County and waived fees for copies of certificates
of death records by any person who suffered a loss of a family
member due to that terrorist attack.

(d) The Legislature established a precedent for providing
financial assistance for dependents of victims of the September
11, 2001, terror attacks when it passed Assembly Bill 1746
(Chapter 450 of the Statutes of 2002).

(e) Existing law requires the University of California, the
Hastings College of the Law, and the California State University
to waive systemwide fees and tuition fees for any surviving spouse
or surviving child, natural or adopted, of peace officers killed in
the performance of active law enforcement.

SEC. 2.  

Section 68121.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

68121.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, no mandatory
systemwide fees or tuition of any kind shall be required or collected
by the Regents of the University of California or the Trustees of
the California State University from a student who is in an
undergraduate program and who is the surviving dependent of any
individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on
December 2, 2015, if he or she meets the financial need
requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A
Program and either of the following apply:

(1) The surviving dependent was a resident of California on
December 2, 2015.

(2) The individual killed in the attack was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015.

(b) (1) The California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board shall identify all persons who are eligible for tuition
and fee waivers pursuant to this section or subdivision (k) of
Section 76300. That board shall notify these persons or, in the case
of minors, the parents or guardians of these persons, of their
eligibility for tuition and fee waivers under these provisions. This
notification shall be in writing, and shall be received by all of the
appropriate persons no later than July 1, 2016.

(2) The Trustees of the California State University, the Regents
of the University of California, and the governing board of each
community college district in the state shall waive tuition and fees,
as specified in this section and in subdivision (k) of Section 76300,
for any person who can demonstrate eligibility. If requested by
the California State University, the University of California, the
Hastings College of the Law, or a California Community College,
the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board, on a case-by-case basis, shall confirm the eligibility of
persons requesting the waiver of tuition and fees, as provided for
in this section.

(c) A determination of whether a person was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015, shall be based on the criteria set
forth in this chapter for determining nonresident and resident
tuition.

(d) (1)   “Dependent,” for purposes of this section, means the
surviving spouse or a surviving child, natural or adopted, of an
individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist
attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015.

(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual
killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2,
2015, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until ____.

(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted,
of an individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on
December 2, 2015, is entitled to the waivers under this section
until that person attains 30 years of age.

(4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attack in
San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, who is determined to be
eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section
until ____.

SEC. 3.  

Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

76300.  

(a) The governing board of each community college
district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.

(b) (1) The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six
dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term
of the 2012 calendar year.

(2) The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the
amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system,
and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for
summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In
making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the
per unit fee and the per term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.

(c) For the purposes of computing apportionments to community
college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of
governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each
district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from
charging a fee pursuant to this section.

(d) The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up
to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed
by this section.

(e) The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by
Section 84757.

(2) California State University or University of California
students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community
college district on a campus of the University of California or a
campus of the California State University, for whom the district
claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement
between the district and the California State University or the
University of California.

(3) Students enrolled in credit contract education courses
pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including
administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency,
corporation, or association with which the district is contracting
and if these students are not included in the calculation of the
full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.

(f) The governing board of a community college district may
exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to Section
76001 from the fee requirement.

(g) (1) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for
any student who meets all of the following requirements:

(A) Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted
by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined
in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any
minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to
this section shall be uniform across all community college districts
and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit
cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose
requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum
academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors
and the requirements of subparagraph (B).

(B) Meets one of the following criteria:

(i) At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the
Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment
Program, or a general assistance program.

(ii) Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards
established by regulations of the board of governors.

(iii) 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.

(2) (A) The board of governors, in consultation with students,
faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the
following in the development and adoption of minimum academic
and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph
(1):

(i) Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do
not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing
their education.

(ii) Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and
granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not
penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control,
such as reductions in student support services or changes to the
economic situation of the student.

(iii) A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that
provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or
resume his or her enrollment at a community college.

(B) To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the
requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of
governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that
commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum
academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to
these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1)
and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of
this requirement and information about available support resources.

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic
and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and
implement the student support services and interventions necessary
to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity,
gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors
shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet
the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum
academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to
these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(4) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall
not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus
first demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with
adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee
waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations
to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:

(A) Students are provided information about the available
student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver
eligibility.

(B) Community college district policies and course catalogs
reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate
notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.

(C) A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or
she has not met minimum academic and progress standards adopted
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no
less than two consecutive academic terms.

(5) The board of governors shall provide notification of a
proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision
to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature
in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:

(A) The proposed minimum academic and progress standards
and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1)
to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.

(B) How many students may lose fee waiver eligibility by
ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is
available, by socioeconomic status.

(C) The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances,
granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant
to paragraph (2).

(h) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any
student who, 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. “Active service of the state,” for
the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the
California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of
the Military and Veterans Code.

(i) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any
student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted,
of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section
68120.

(j) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for 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 set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant
A Program and either of the following applies:

(1) The dependent was a resident of California on September
11, 2001.

(2) The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of
California on September 11, 2001.

begin insert

(k) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for 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
terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, if that
dependent meets the financial need requirements set forth in
Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the
following applies:

end insert begin insert

(1) The dependent was a resident of California on December
2, 2015.

end insert begin insert

(2) The individual killed in the attack was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015.

end insert begin delete

(k)

end delete

begin insert (l) end insert  A determination of whether a person is a resident of
California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j)
shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining
nonresident and resident tuition.

begin insert

(m) A determination of whether a person was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015, for purposes of subdivision (k)
shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining
nonresident and resident tuition.

end insert begin delete

(l)

end delete

begin insert (n) end insert  (1) “Dependent,” for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person
who, because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as
a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV
(commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).

(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual
killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to
the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.

(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted,
of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that
person attains 30 years of age.

(4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board,
is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January
1, 2013.

begin insert

(o) (1) “Dependent,” for purposes of subdivision (k), means
the surviving spouse or a surviving child, natural or adopted, of
an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the
terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015.

end insert begin insert

(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual
killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2,
2015, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until ____.

end insert begin insert

(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted,
of an individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on
December 2, 2015, is entitled to the waivers under this section
until that person attains 30 years of age.

end insert begin insert

(4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attack in
San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, who is determined to be
eligible by the California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section
until ____.

end insert begin delete

(m)

end delete

begin insert (p) end insert  (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be
provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student
who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to begin delete (j), end delete
begin insert (k), end insert inclusive.

(2) From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board
of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant
to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived
pursuant to subdivisions (g) to begin delete (j), end delete begin insert (k), end insert inclusive. From funds
provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall
allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision,
an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived
pursuant to subdivisions (g) to begin delete (j), end delete begin insert (k), end insert inclusive. It is the intent of
the Legislature that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be
used to support the determination of financial need and delivery
of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of
students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the
Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision
directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college
districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated
Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15
(Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college
district for determination of financial need and delivery of student
financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the
level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial
aid programs during the 1992-93 fiscal year.

begin delete

(n)

end delete

begin insert (q) end insert  The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing
this section.

begin delete

(o) This section shall become operative on May 1, 2012, only
if subdivision (b) of Section 3.94 of the Budget Act of 2011 is
operative.

end delete

SEC. 4.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to provide immediate educational and economic relief
to the surviving dependents of any individual killed in the terrorist
attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, it is necessary for
this act to take effect immediately.