Bill Text: CA AB1892 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Student financial aid: Cal Grant C awards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB1892 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1892-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1892	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Medina

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2016

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


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1892, as introduced, Medina. Student financial aid: Cal Grant C
awards.
   The Cal Grant Program establishes Cal Grant C awards, which may be
used only for institutional fees, and other costs, as specified, for
occupational or technical training in a course of not less than 4
months, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission. The
program requires the commission to give priority in granting Cal
Grant C awards to students pursuing occupational or technical
training in areas that meet at least 2 criteria.
   This bill would set the maximum Cal Grant C award amount at
$3,000, would authorize these awards to be used for institutional
charges and access costs, as defined, and would give priority, for
students seeking to enroll in a community college, to those students
pursuing occupational or technical training in industry sectors
determined by the California Community College Economic and Workforce
Development Program to be a high priority for the region
encompassing the college.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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" has the same meaning as set forth in Section
88620.
   (2) "Economic security" has the same meaning as set forth in
Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
   (3) "Industry cluster" has the same meaning as set forth in
Section 88620.
   (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) 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 the same number of Cal Grant C awards each year as were made
in the 2000-01 fiscal year. The maximum award amount  and
the total amount of funding shall be determined each year in the
annual Budget Act.   shall be three thousand dollars
($3,000). 
   (c) The commission may use criteria it deems appropriate in
selecting students to receive grants for occupational or technical
training and 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:
   (1) Family income and household size.
   (2) Student's or the students' parent's household status,
including whether the student is a single parent or child of a single
parent.
   (3) The employment status of the applicant and whether the
applicant is unemployed, giving greater weight to 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 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.   charges and access costs, as defined
in subdivision   (b) of Section 69432.7. In determining
the individual award amounts, the commission shall take into account
the financial means available to the student to fund his or her
course of study and costs of attendance as well as 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) (A) The commission shall give priority in granting Cal Grant C
awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in
areas that meet two of the following criteria pertaining to job
quality:
   (i) High employer need or demand for the specific skills offered
in the program.
   (ii) High employment growth in the occupational field or industry
cluster for which the student is being trained.
   (iii) High employment salary and wage projections for workers
employed in the occupations for which they are being trained.
   (iv) The occupation or training program is part of a
well-articulated career pathway to a job providing economic security.

   (B) To receive priority pursuant to subparagraph (A), at least one
of the criteria met shall be specified in clause (iii) or (iv) of
that subparagraph. 
   (4) In addition to the priority given pursuant to paragraph (3)
for students seeking to enroll in a community college, the commission
shall give priority in granting Cal Grant C awards to students
pursuing occupational or technical training in industry sectors
determined by the California Community College Economic and Workforce
Development Program to be a high priority for the region
encompassing the college. 
   (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) Using the best available data, the commission shall examine
the graduation rates and job placement data, or salary 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, or salary 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 to 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 experiencing long-term unemployment. The outreach plan shall use
existing administrative and service delivery processes making use of
existing points of contact with the long-term unemployed. The local
workforce investment boards are required to participate only to the
extent that the outreach efforts are a part of their existing
responsibilities under the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(Public Law 105-220).
   (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.
Outreach shall use existing administrative and service delivery
processes making use of existing points of contact with the students.
The local workforce investment boards are required to participate
only to the extent that the outreach efforts are a part of their
existing responsibilities under the federal Workforce Investment Act
of 1998 (Public Law 105-220).
   (j) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the Legislative Analyst's Office 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:
   (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 Legislative
Analyst's Office 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.