Bill Text: CA AB19 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Community colleges: California College Promise.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 735, Statutes of 2017. [AB19 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB19-Amended.html
YESNO
SEC. 2.
Bill Title: Community colleges: California College Promise.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 735, Statutes of 2017. [AB19 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB19-Amended.html
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May 30, 2017 |
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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 19 |
| Introduced by Assembly Members Santiago, Chiu, and McCarty (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, and Quirk-Silva) |
December 05, 2016 |
An act to amend Section 76300 of the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 19, as amended, Santiago.
Community colleges: enrollment fee waiver.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes the establishment of community college districts under the administration of community college governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at community college campuses throughout the state. Existing law requires community college district governing boards to charge students an enrollment fee of $46 per unit per semester. Existing law requires the board of governors to waive this fee for students meeting prescribed requirements.
This
If the governing board of a community college district meets specified requirements, the bill would, except as provided, waive the fee, for one academic year, for first-time community college students at the district who enroll in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, as specified, and complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application. The bill would require each district that has offsetting local revenues that exceed the funding calculated pursuant to the district’s budget formula to annually report to the chancellor the amount of these fee waivers granted for that fiscal year, as specified. To the extent the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 76300 of the Education Code is amended to read:76300.
(a) The governing board of each community college district shall charge each student a fee pursuant to this section.(b) (1) The fee prescribed by this section shall be forty-six dollars ($46) per unit per semester, effective with the summer term of the 2012 calendar year.
(2) The board of governors shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for term lengths based upon a quarter system, and also shall proportionately adjust the amount of the fee for summer sessions, intersessions, and other short-term courses. In making these adjustments, the board of governors may round the per unit fee and the per
term or per session fee to the nearest dollar.
(c) For the purposes of computing apportionments to community college districts pursuant to Section 84750.5, the board of governors shall subtract, from the total revenue owed to each district, 98 percent of the revenues received by districts from charging a fee pursuant to this section.
(d) The board of governors shall reduce apportionments by up to 10 percent to any district that does not collect the fees prescribed by this section.
(e) The fee requirement does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Students enrolled in the noncredit courses designated by Section 84757.
(2) California State University or University of California students enrolled in remedial classes provided by a community
college district on a campus of the University of California or a campus of the California State University, for whom the district claims an attendance apportionment pursuant to an agreement between the district and the California State University or the University of California.
(3) Students enrolled in credit contract education courses pursuant to Section 78021, if the entire cost of the course, including administrative costs, is paid by the public or private agency, corporation, or association with which the district is contracting and if these students are not included in the calculation of the full-time equivalent students (FTES) of that district.
(f) The governing board of a community college district may exempt special part-time students admitted pursuant to
Section 76001 from the fee requirement.
(g) (1) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who meets both of the following requirements:
(A) Meets minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors, which fulfill the requirements outlined in this paragraph and paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive. Any minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be uniform across all community college districts and campuses. These standards shall not include a maximum unit cap, and community college districts and colleges shall not impose requirements for fee waiver eligibility other than the minimum academic and progress standards adopted by the board of governors and the requirements of
subparagraph (B).
(B) Meets one of the following criteria:
(i) At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance program.
(ii) Demonstrates eligibility according to income standards established by regulations of the board of governors.
(iii) Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for determining the expected family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
(iv) At the time of
enrollment, is a homeless youth as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66025.9.
(2) (A) The board of governors, in consultation with students, faculty, and other key stakeholders, shall consider all of the following in the development and adoption of minimum academic and progress standards pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1):
(i) Minimum uniform academic and progress standards that do not unfairly disadvantage financially needy students in pursuing their education.
(ii) Criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances and granting appeals that, at a minimum, take into account and do not penalize a student for circumstances outside his or her control, such as reductions in student
support services or changes to the economic situation of the student.
(iii) A process for reestablishing fee waiver eligibility that provides a student with a reasonable opportunity to continue or resume his or her enrollment at a community college.
(B) To ensure that students are not unfairly impacted by the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the board of governors shall establish a reasonable implementation period that commences no sooner than one year from adoption of the minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that is phased in to provide students adequate notification of this requirement and information about available support resources.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) be implemented only as campuses develop and implement the student support services and interventions necessary to ensure no disproportionate impact to students based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status. The board of governors shall consider the ability of community college districts to meet the requirements of this paragraph before adopting minimum academic and progress standards, or any subsequent changes to these standards, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that a student shall not lose fee waiver eligibility without a community college campus first
demonstrating a reasonable effort to provide a student with adequate notification and assistance in maintaining his or her fee waiver eligibility. The board of governors shall adopt regulations to implement this paragraph that ensure all of the following:
(A) Students are provided information about the available student support services to assist them in maintaining fee waiver eligibility.
(B) Community college district policies and course catalogs reflect the minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) and that appropriate notice is provided to students before the policies are put into effect.
(C) A student does not lose fee waiver eligibility unless he or she has not met
minimum academic and progress standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) for a period of no less than two consecutive academic terms.
(5) The board of governors shall provide notification of a proposed action to adopt regulations pursuant to this subdivision to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 70901.5. This notification shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) The proposed minimum academic and progress standards and information detailing how the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, have been or will be satisfied.
(B) How many students may lose fee waiver
eligibility by ethnicity, gender, disability, and, to the extent relevant data is available, by socioeconomic status.
(C) The criteria for reviewing extenuating circumstances, granting appeals, and reestablishing fee waiver eligibility pursuant to paragraph (2).
(h) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who, at the time of enrollment, is a dependent or surviving spouse who has not remarried, of any member of the California National Guard who, in the line of duty and while in the active service of the state, was killed, died of a disability resulting from an event that occurred while in the active service of the state, or is permanently disabled as a result of an event that occurred while in the active service of the state. “Active service of
the state,” for the purposes of this subdivision, refers to a member of the California National Guard activated pursuant to Section 146 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(i) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student who is the surviving spouse or the child, natural or adopted, of a deceased person who met all of the requirements of Section 68120.
(j) The fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any student in an undergraduate program, including a student who has previously graduated from another undergraduate or graduate program, who is the dependent of any individual killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in southwestern Pennsylvania, if
that dependent meets the financial
need requirements set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either of the following applies:
(1) The dependent was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(2) The individual killed in the attacks was a resident of California on September 11, 2001.
(k) A determination of whether a person is a resident of California on September 11, 2001, for purposes of subdivision (j) shall be based on the criteria set forth in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 68000) of Part 41 of Division 5 for determining nonresident and resident tuition.
(l) (1) “Dependent,” for purposes of subdivision (j), is a person who,
because of his or her relationship to an individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, qualifies for compensation under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Title IV (commencing with Section 401) of Public Law 107-42).
(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is entitled to the waivers under subdivision (j) until that person attains 30 years of age.
(4) A
dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who is determined to be eligible by the California Victim Compensation Board, is also entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1, 2013.
(m) (1) The If the governing board of a community college district meets the requirements in paragraph (5), the fee requirements of this section shall be waived for any first-time community college student who is enrolled at the district full
time, and completes and submits either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application. A fee waiver that a student receives pursuant to this subdivision shall only be for one academic year and shall only be waived for the summer term and each semester or quarter of that year in which the student maintains full-time status. A fee waiver provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be available to a student who is charged a tuition fee pursuant to Section 76140.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:
(A) “Full time” means 12 or more semester units or the equivalent.
(B) “One academic year” means the total of the summer term
that immediately precedes the first semester or quarter of the fall term, and the two consecutive semesters or three quarters that immediately follow that summer term. Each semester or quarter is approximately the same length.
(3) Each district that has offsetting local revenues that exceed the funding calculated pursuant to the district’s budget formula shall annually report to the chancellor the amount of fee waivers granted for that fiscal year pursuant to this subdivision. In computing the amount of fee waivers, the district shall exclude fee waivers for all students who are eligible for a fee waiver pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive.
(4) All districts, including districts described in paragraph (3), shall be eligible for state funds provided to support the implementation
of this subdivision. Notwithstanding any other law, if insufficient state funds are available to cover the additional cost of waivers provided pursuant to this subdivision, the shortfall shall be borne by all districts, including districts described in paragraph (3), based on the number of waivers provided pursuant to this subdivision.
(5) In order for the fee requirements of this section to be waived for a student under this subdivision, the governing board of the community college district shall partner with one or more school districts and one or more California State University or University of California campuses, if appropriate, to establish or expand a program that includes all of the following practices and principles:
(A) Partnering with one or more school districts to establish an Early Commitment to College Program that is consistent with the intent of Article 6.3 (commencing with Section 54710) of Chapter 9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2 to provide K–12 students and families assistance that includes, but is not limited to, learning about college opportunities, visiting campuses, taking and completing college preparatory courses, and applying for college and financial aid.
(B) Partnering with one or more school districts to support and improve high school student preparation for college and reduce postsecondary remediation through practices that may include, but are not limited to, small learning communities, concurrent enrollment, and other evidence-based practices.
(C) Utilizing evidence-based placement and student
assessment indicators at the community college district that include multiple measures of student performance, which may include, among others, grades in high school courses, overall grade point averages, results from common assessments, and input from counselors.
(D) Providing students who are enrolled at the community college district with access to courses, including, but not limited to, priority registration, and allowing them to register for a full academic year of courses at once, in order to keep them on track to graduate, transfer to a public postsecondary university, or earn a career technical education certificate in California.
(E) Providing outreach to students who are enrolled at a community college within the community college district regarding the Associate Degrees for Transfer and the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Cal Grant program.
(n) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that sufficient funds be provided to support the provision of a fee waiver for every student who demonstrates eligibility pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive, and subdivision (m).
(2) From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to 2 percent of the fees waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. From funds provided in the annual Budget Act, the board of governors shall allocate to community college districts, pursuant to this subdivision, an amount equal to ninety-one cents ($0.91) per credit unit waived pursuant to subdivisions (g) to (j), inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature
that funds provided pursuant to this subdivision be used to support the determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services, on the basis of the number of students for whom fees are waived. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision directly offset mandated costs claimed by community college districts pursuant to Commission on State Mandates consolidated Test Claims 99-TC-13 (Enrollment Fee Collection) and 00-TC-15 (Enrollment Fee Waivers). Funds allocated to a community college district for determination of financial need and delivery of student financial aid services shall supplement, and shall not supplant, the level of funds allocated for the administration of student financial aid programs during the 1992–93 fiscal year.
(o) The board of governors shall adopt
regulations implementing this section.
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.
