BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2489
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2489 (Leno)
As Amended May 26, 2006
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 6-0 EDUCATION 8-1
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|Ayes:|Liu, Bass, Shirley |Ayes:|Goldberg, Arambula, Coto, |
| |Horton, Matthews, Nava, | |Hancock, Liu, Mullin, |
| |Ruskin | |Pavley, Umberg |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:| |Nays:|Huff |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS
(vote not available)
SUMMARY : Enacts the "Foster Youth Higher Education Preparation
and Support Act of 2006," which includes matching funds for
federal grants, enhanced education services in K-12 districts,
student aid initiatives to close fee grant gaps in public higher
education, and student housing priority at public colleges and
universities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides for expansion of the Foster Youth Services Program by
authorizing a range of local entities to apply for grant
funding from the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
operate an education-based foster youth services program for
children who reside in licensed or approved foster homes, and
requires that each foster youth services program, if
sufficient funds are available, have at least one person
identified as a foster youth educational services advocate.
2)States the intent of the Legislature to provide additional
matching funds in the state budget for the federally-funded
Chafee Higher Education Grants (Chafee) and to ensure timely
payments of grants to foster youth by providing funding for
Chafee in anticipation of federal funding to be received after
adoption of the federal budget in October 2006.
3)States the intent of the Legislature that Chaffee awards be
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made to eligible foster youth by October 15, 2006, and if not,
that the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) and the
Department of Social Services (DSS) report the reasons why to
the Legislature by March 1, 2007.
4)Authorizes CSAC to make tuition and fee payments to a
recipient of Cal Grant B in his or her first academic year of
attendance if the recipient is or was a foster youth.
5)States legislative intent that all current and former foster
youth who are residents of California shall have their
University of California (UC) and California State University
(CSU) systemwide and campus fees covered by grant funds, and
to implement this intent requires CSU to provide State
University Grant (SUG) funds to current and former foster
youth to the extent the student does not receive sufficient
funds from Cal Grant to cover systemwide and campus fees, and
requests UC to do the same using University of California
Grant (UCG) funds, and further requires CSU to provide annual
estimates to the Department of Finance and the Legislative
Analyst's Office of the amount of budget augmentation
necessary to provide SUG to foster youth, and requests UC to
do the same for UCG grants.
6)Requires CSU and requests UC to give student housing priority
to current and former foster youth in order to ensure stable
housing for these students, including priority for year-round
housing.
7)Requires DSS annually to notify, in writing, all foster youth
aged 13 and older of the educational supports available to
them pursuant to this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee
1)Up to several million dollars annually to expand foster youth
education and support services.
2)General Fund costs to reimburse UC and CSU for the costs of
providing UCG and SUG funds to former foster youth, which are
unknown, but probably not significant.
3)Approximately $270,000 annually to provide tuition and fee
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payments to Cal Grant B recipients in their first year.
COMMENTS : According to the author, all California foster youth
should receive the academic preparation, financial assistance
and campus-based support services they need to gain access to
higher education and to be successful in their education.
Only half of all foster youth complete high school and only 15%
take the necessary courses to gain college admission. Fewer
than 10% of foster youth who graduate from high school go on to
college, and fewer than 2% who go on to college ever graduate.
Foster youth are more likely than the general population to face
homelessness, incarceration and lower lifetime earning
potential. This bill contains a package of initiatives to meet
the higher education needs of foster youth.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Gill / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
FN: 0014905