Amended in Senate March 25, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1028

Introduced by Senator Jackson

begin insert

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

end insert

February 14, 2014

An act to amend Section 69439 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1028, as amended, Jackson. Student financial aid: Cal Grant C awards.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Act, establishes the Cal Grant C begin delete Program end delete begin insert program end insert under the administration of the Student Aid Commission and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under this program. The act requires that a Cal Grant C award be used only for occupational or technical training, as defined, in a course of not less than 4 months. The act requires the commission, after consultation with state and federal agencies, to determine the areas of occupational or technical training for which Cal Grant C awards shall be awarded. Existing law also requires the Student Aid Commission to develop, and regularly review and update at least every 5 years, the areas of occupational or technical training for which students may utilize Cal Grant C awards and to give priority in granting the awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in areas that meet specified criteria. The act requires the maximum award amount and total amount of funding for the Cal Grant C begin delete Program end delete begin insert program end insert to be determined each year in the annual Budget Act. The act requires the number of the awards made each year to be the same as the number of awards made for the 2000-01 fiscal year. The act requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to report every odd-numbered year to the Legislature on the outcomes of the Cal Grant C program, as specified.

This bill would revise and recast the act to, among other things, require the number of awards made each year to be at least the same number of awards made for the 2000-01 fiscal year and would require begin insert , if sufficient funds are available, end insert the amount awarded to be not less than $3,009, and not more than $5,000, per award. The bill would reserve 2,500 awards for the California’s long-term unemployed. begin insert The bill would provide that if, for a given year, there are less than 2,500 long-term unemployed applicants, the balance of the awards would be awarded as specified. end insert The bill would additionally authorize the award be expended for the student’s living expenses. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with specified entities, for purposes of the Cal Grant C program, to prioritize occupational training programs and industry clusters. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified public entities to develop a plan to publicize the grant award program begin delete to the end delete begin insert for end insert California’s long-term unemployed begin insert to be used by those specified public entities when they come into contact with members of the population who are likely to be eligible for the award, end insert and begin insert would require the commission to develop end insert a plan to make students receiving awards aware of job search and placement services available through specified public entities. begin insert Because a local workforce investment board would be required to use the plan to publicize the grant award program for the long-term unemployed, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. end insert The bill would require the commission, instead of the Legislative Analyst’s Office, to submit to the Legislature the above-described reports and would require the reports to provide information separately on the awards reserved for the long-term unemployed.

begin insert

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.

end insert begin insert

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.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 69439 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

69439.  

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Career pathway” means an identified series of positions,
work experiences, or educational benchmarks or credentials with
multiple access points that offer occupational and financial
advancement within a specific career field or related fields over
time.

(2) “Economic security” means, with respect to a worker,
earning a wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and, over
time, to save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement
income, based on factors, such as household size, the cost of living
in the worker’s community, and other factors that may vary by
region.

(3) “Industry cluster” means any of the following:

(A) A geographic concentration or emerging concentration of
interdependent industries with direct service, supplier, and research
relationships.

(B) Independent industries that share common resources in a
given regional economy or labor market.

(C) A group of employers closely linked by common products
or services, workforce needs, similar technologies, and supply
chains in a given regional economic or labor market.

(4) “Long-term unemployed” means, with respect to an award
applicant, a person who has been unemployed for more than 26
weeks at the time of submission to the commission of his or her
application.

(5) “Occupational or technical training” means that phase of
education coming after the completion of a secondary school
program and leading toward recognized occupational goals
approved by the commission.

(b) (1) A Cal Grant C award shall be utilized only for
occupational or technical training in a course of not less than four
months. begin delete Except as provided in paragraph (4), there end delete begin insert There end insert shall be,
at least, the same number of Cal Grant C awards each year as were
made in the 2000-01 fiscal year.

(2)  begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert A minimum of 2,500 Cal Grant C awards shall be
reserved for California’s long-term unemployed.

begin insert

(B) If, for a given year, fewer than 2,500 applicants who are
long-term unemployed apply for these awards, then the balance
of the awards shall be reserved for those who have dropped out
of the labor force after being unemployed for more than 26 weeks.

end insert begin insert

(C) If, for a given year, fewer than 2,500 applicants who are
long-term unemployed for a year or who have dropped out of the
workforce after being unemployed for more than 26 weeks apply
for these awards, then the balance of the awards shall be available
for applicants who meet the general eligibility criteria.

end insert

(3) The maximum award amount and the total amount of funding
shall be determined each year in the annual Budget Act, but begin insert , if
sufficient funds are available, end insert the annual award amount of Cal
Grant C awards shall be no less than three thousand nine dollars
($3,009) and no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per
award.

begin delete

(4) If the total amount of funding provided in the annual Budget
Act for a fiscal year is insufficient to provide the same number of
Cal Grant C awards made in the 2000-01 fiscal year at the
minimum award level of three thousand nine dollars ($3,009) for
each award, the commission shall ensure the amount awarded for
each award is not less than three thousand nine dollars ($3,009).

end delete

(c) The commission may use criteria it deems appropriate in
selecting students to receive grants for occupational or technical
training and may use different criteria for awards reserved for the
long-term unemployed.

(d) The Cal Grant C award recipients shall be eligible for
renewal of their grants until they have completed their occupational
or technical training in conformance with terms prescribed by the
commission. A determination by the commission for a subsequent
award year that the program under which a Cal Grant C begin insert award end insert
was initially awarded is no longer deemed to receive priority shall
not affect an award recipient’s renewal. In no case shall the grants
exceed two calendar years.

(e) Cal Grant C awards may be used for institutional fees,
charges, and other costs, including tuition, plus training-related
costs, such as special clothing, local transportation, required tools,
equipment, supplies, books, and living expenses. In determining
the individual award amounts, the commission shall take into
account other state and federal programs available to the applicant.

(f) (1) To ensure alignment with the state’s dynamic economic
needs, the commission, in consultation with appropriate state and
federal agencies, including the Economic and Workforce
Development Division of the Office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges and the California Workforce
Investment Board, shall identify areas of occupational and technical
training for which students may utilize Cal Grant C awards. The
commission, to the extent feasible, shall also consult with
representatives of the state’s leading competitive and emerging
industry clusters, workforce professionals, and career technical
educators, to determine which occupational training programs and
industry clusters should be prioritized.

(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the areas of
occupational and technical training developed pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be regularly reviewed and updated at least
every five years, beginning in 2012.

(B) By January 1, 2016, the commission shall update the priority
areas of occupational and technical training.

(3) The commission shall give priority in granting Cal Grant C
awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in
areas that meet the following criteria:

(A) High employer need or demand and likelihood of the student
being placed in a job for which the student is being trained.

(B) High employment salary or wage projections for workers
employed in the occupations for which they are being trained.

(C) The likelihood of job placement in a position with a
well-articulated career pathway to a job providing economic
security.

(D) High employment growth in the occupational field or
industry cluster for which the student is being trained.

(g) The commission shall determine areas of occupational or
technical training that meet the criteria described in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (f) in consultation with the Employment
Development Department, the Economic and Workforce
Development Division of the Office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges, and the California Workforce
Investment Board using projections available through the Labor
Market Information Data Library. The commission may supplement
the analyses of the Employment Development Department’s Labor
Market Information Data Library with the labor market analyses
developed by the Economic and Workforce Development Division
of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges and the California Workforce Investment Board, as well
as the projections of occupational shortages and skills gap
developed by industry leaders. The commission shall publish, and
retain, on its Internet Web site a current list of the areas of
occupational or technical training that meet the criteria described
in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f), and update this list as necessary.

(h) The commission shall examine the graduation rates and job
placement data of eligible programs. Commencing with the
2014-15 academic year, the commission shall give priority to Cal
Grant C begin insert award end insert applicants seeking to enroll in programs that rate
high in graduation rates and job placement data.

(i) (1) The commission shall consult with begin delete the Workforce
Services Branch of end delete the Employment Development Department,
the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges,
the California Workforce Investment Board, and the local
workforce investment boards to develop a plan to publicize the
existence of the grant award program begin delete to the end delete begin insert for end insert California’s
long-term begin delete unemployed. end delete begin insert unemployed to be used by those consulting
agencies when they come in contact with members of the population
who are likely to be eligible. end insert

(2) The commission shall consult with the Workforce Services
Branch of the Employment Development Department, the Office
of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the
California Workforce Investment Board, and the local workforce
investment boards to develop a plan to make students receiving
awards aware of job search and placement services available
through the Employment Development Department and the local
workforce investment boards.

(j) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government
Code, the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature on
the outcomes of the Cal Grant C begin delete Program end delete begin insert program end insert on or before
April 1, 2015, and on or before April 1 of each odd-numbered year
thereafter. This report shall include, but not necessarily be limited
to, information on all of the following, with information on awards
that are reserved for the long-term unemployed provided separately:

(A) The age, gender, and segment of attendance for recipients
in two prior award years.

(B) The occupational and technical training program categories
prioritized.

(C) The number and percentage of students who received
selection priority as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f).

(D) The extent to which recipients in these award years were
successfully placed in jobs that meet local, regional, or state
workforce needs.

(2) For the report due on or before April 1, 2015, the commission
shall include data for two additional prior award years and shall
compare the mix of occupational and technical training programs
and institutions in which Cal Grant C begin insert award end insert recipients enrolled
before and after implementation of subdivision (f).

(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert begin insert

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.

end insert