Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Amended in Senate March 25, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1028

Introduced by Senator Jackson

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

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 program 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 program 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 begin delete Legislative Analyst’s Office to report every odd-numbered year to the Legislature on the outcomes of the Cal Grant C program, as specified. end delete begin insert commission to give priority in granting the awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in areas that meet specified criteria. end insert

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, if sufficient funds are available, the amount awarded to be not less than $3,009, and not more than $5,000, per award. begin delete The bill would reserve 2,500 awards for the California’s long-term unemployed. 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. The bill would additionally authorize the award be expended for the student’s living expenses. end delete begin insert The bill would require the commission to give special consideration to the social and economic situations of the students applying for the grants, giving additional weight to applicants facing specified challenges. In determining the individual award amounts, the bill would additionally require the commission to take into account the financial means available to the student to fund his or her course of study and costs of attendance. The bill would revise the criteria that areas of occupational or technical training are required to meet to be given priority for awards, as specified. end insert 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 for end delete begin insert to end insert California’s long-term unemployed to be used by those specified public entities when they come into contact with members of the population who are likely to be begin delete eligible for the award, end delete begin insert experiencing long-term unemployment end insert and would require the commission to develop a plan to make students receiving awards aware of job search and placement services available through specified public entities. 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. begin delete 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. end delete

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.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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” begin delete 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. end delete begin insert has the same meaning as set forth in Section 88620. end insert

(2) “Economic security” begin delete 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. end delete begin insert has the same meaning as set forth in Section 14005 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code. end insert

(3) “Industry cluster” begin delete means any of the following: end delete begin insert has the same
meaning as set forth in Section 88620. end insert

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(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.

end delete

(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. There shall be, at least, the same number of Cal Grant C
awards each year as were made in the 2000-01 fiscal year.

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(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 delete begin delete

(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 delete begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  The maximum award amount and the total amount of funding
shall be determined each year in the annual Budget Act, but, if
sufficient funds are available, 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.

(c) The commission may use criteria it deems appropriate in
selecting students to receive grants for occupational or technical
training and begin delete may use different criteria for awards reserved for the
long-term unemployed. end delete begin insert shall give special consideration to the
social and economic situations of the students applying for these
grants, giving additional weight to disadvantaged applicants,
applicants who face economic hardship, and applicants who face
particular barriers to employment. Criteria to be considered for
these purposes shall include, but are not limited to, all of the
following: end insert

begin insert

(1) Family income and household size.

end insert begin insert

(2) Student’s or the students’ parent’s household status,
including whether the student is a single parent or child of a single
parent.

end insert begin insert

(3) The employment status of the applicant and whether the
applicant is unemployed, giving greater weight to the long-term
unemployed.

end insert

(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 award 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 begin insert the financial means available to the student to fund his or
her course of study and costs of attendance as well as end insert 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)  begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert The commission shall give priority in granting Cal Grant
C awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training
in areas that meet begin insert two of end insert the following begin delete criteria: end delete begin insert criteria pertaining
to job quality: end insert

begin delete

(A)

end delete

begin insert (i) end insert  High employer need or demand begin delete and likelihood of the student
being placed in a job for which the student is being trained. end delete begin insert for the
specific skills offered in the program. end insert

begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

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

end delete begin delete

(D)

end delete

begin insert (ii) end insert  High employment growth in the occupational field or
industry cluster for which the student is being trained.

begin insert

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

end insert begin insert

(iv) The occupation or training program is part of a
well-articulated career pathway to a job providing economic
security.

end insert begin insert

(B) At least one of two of the criteria to be met pursuant to
subparagraph (A) shall be specified in clause (iii) or (iv) of that
subparagraph.

end insert

(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 award applicants seeking to enroll in programs that rate
high in graduation rates and job placement data.

(i) (1) The commission shall consult with 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 for end delete begin insert to end insert California’s long-term unemployed to be used by
those consulting agencies when they come in contact with members
of the population who are likely to be begin delete eligible. end delete begin insert experiencing
long-term unemployment. 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 begin delete commission end delete begin insert Legislative Analyst’s Office end insert shall submit a
report to the Legislature on the outcomes of the Cal Grant C
program 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 begin delete commission end delete
begin insert Legislative Analyst’s Office end insert 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
award 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.

SEC. 2.  

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.