BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2099
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2099 (Frazier)
As Amended May 23, 2014
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Williams, Ch�vez, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Fong, Fox, Jones-Sawyer, | |Bradford, |
| |Levine, Medina, | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Quirk-Silva, Weber | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes minimum student outcome requirements for
postsecondary institutions approved by the California State
Approving Agency for Veterans Education (CSAAVE) to participate
in federal veteran's education benefits. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Establishes the Title 38 Funding Program and establishes
CSAAVE as responsible for approving courses at qualifying
institutions seeking to enroll veterans or others eligible for
Title 38 awards in accordance with federal law, the provisions
of this bill, and any other reasonable criteria established by
CSAAVE.
2)Defines a qualifying institution to mean an institution that
does all of the following:
a) Provides information on where to access California
license examination passage rates for undergraduates
enrolled in programs for which licensure is required, if
that data is electronically available through the licensure
agency. Requires the institution to certify compliance to
CSAAVE;
b) Provides evidence of accreditation to CSAAVE from an
accrediting agency recognized by the United States
Department of Education (USDE). Unaccredited degree
granting institutions are authorized to remain Title 38
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eligible if they receive pre-accreditation status by 2016
and accreditation status by 2017;
c) Provides to CSAAVE evidence of compliance with the
federal Principles of Excellence program; and,
d) Meets one of the following requirements:
i) CSAAVE certifies the institution maintains a
three-year Cohort Default Rate (CDR) of less than 15.5%
and a graduation rate of greater than 30%; or, the
institution maintains a CDR of less than 10% and a
graduation rate of above 20% (eligible until 2018-19);
or, less than 40% of undergraduate students borrow
federal loans.
ii) The institution is a private postsecondary
institution issued an approval to operate from the
Bureau.
EXISTING LAW establishes the California Department of Veterans
Affairs (CalVet) to provide support to veterans living in
California by ensuring that veterans and their families receive
the state and federal benefits and services to which they are
entitled; establishes, among other requirements, CDR and
graduation rate performance requirements, virtually identical to
those contained in this bill, for educational institutions
participating in the Cal Grant Program, administered by the
California Student Aid Commission (CSAC); and, establishes the
Bureau to provide oversight of private postsecondary educational
institutions operating in California. Established by AB 48
(Portantino), Chapter 310, Statutes of 2009, the bill took
effect January 1, 2010, to make many substantive changes that
created a foundation for oversight and gave the new Bureau an
array of enforcement tools to ensure schools comply with the
law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to Assembly Appropriations Committee,
CalVet indicates that costs for CSAAVE should be absorbable.
COMMENTS : There have been multiple reports and hearings focused
on the experience of veterans at private for-profit
institutions. According to a 2010 report issued by the U.S.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee,
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between 2009 and 2010, revenue from military educational
benefits at 20 for-profit education companies increased 211%.
The report found that four of the five for-profit schools
receiving the most Post-9/11 GI Bill funding in the first year
had loan repayment rates of only 31% to 37%. The report further
found that the same four of five schools receiving the most
Post-9/11 GI funding had at least one campus with a student
default rate above 24% over three years. For-profit schools
have come under particular scrutiny for practices used to
recruit military veterans. Recently, California State Attorney
General Kamala Harris filed suit against Corinthian Colleges,
Inc. (CCI) for false and predatory advertising, intentional
misrepresentations to students, securities fraud and unlawful
use of military seals in advertisements. According to the
complaint, CCI included official military seals in mailings and
on Web sites.
CSAAVE, housed within CalVet, is federally funded and operates
under an annual reimbursement contract with the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In its role as the
approval agency, the primary function of CSAAVE is to review,
evaluate and approve quality educational and training programs
for veteran's benefits. CSAAVE is intended to approve colleges
and universities, vocational schools, business schools,
professional schools, and licensing and certification training
and tests, all of which must lead to an educational,
professional or vocational objective. There is no current
requirement for CSAAVE to provide recourse for students
attending approved institutions and in the event that a student
was misled or unable to become employed following enrollment at
a program.
According to the author, this bill will tighten requirements
that colleges must meet in order to be approved by CSAAVE to
enroll Title 38 recipients, providing additional protection to
veterans from unscrupulous colleges that often leave students
with high debt and without a degree or certificate of any value.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
AB 2099
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FN: 0003715