CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 299

Introduced by Assembly Member Villapudua
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia and Waldron)

January 25, 2021

An act to add Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 69439.5) to Chapter 1.7 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to career technical education.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 299, as introduced, Villapudua. Career technical education: Apprenticeship Grant Program.
Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission to administer state student financial aid programs, including, among other programs, the Cal Grant Program, the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, and the Middle Class Scholarship Program.
This bill would establish the Apprenticeship Grant Program, commencing with the 2022–23 academic year, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, to provide grants to encourage community college students to go into career technical education and vocational programs through participation in apprenticeships. Under the bill, the commission would provide supplemental grants to students who qualify for the Federal Pell Grant or for state financial aid and who participate in approved apprenticeship programs through campuses of the California Community Colleges. The bill would prohibit these grants from exceeding a student’s actual cost of attending a participating community college.
The bill would require that specified eligibility criteria to be met by students and apprenticeship employers and programs to participate in the program would be determined by the commission in accordance with regulations adopted by the commission. The bill would authorize the commission to adopt emergency regulations, as specified, to carry out the purposes of the bill. The bill would make the operation of the program in any fiscal year contingent upon the enactment of an appropriation, in the Budget Act or another statute, of an amount deemed sufficient by the commission to implement the program for that fiscal year.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Career technical education is critical to meeting the state’s workforce needs.
(b) If current trends continue, roughly one-third of new jobs in the state will require some training beyond high school but less than a four-year degree.
(c) Community colleges are the primary providers of career technical education. Although the state provides financial aid to most of these students, it is not enough to cover nontuition costs.
(d)  An apprenticeship grant would be valuable to (1) provide students with supplemental income and to obtain apprenticeships in their fields of study; and (2) to provide incentives for employers and programs to seek out apprentices and provide on-the-job training in career technical education.

SEC. 2.

 Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 69439.5) is added to Chapter 1.7 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  6.5. Apprenticeship Grant Program

69439.5.
 (a) The Apprenticeship Grant Program is hereby established, commencing with the 2022–23 academic year, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, to provide grants to encourage community college students to go into career technical education and vocational programs through participation in apprenticeships.
(b) As used in this article, “program” means the Apprenticeship Grant Program established by this section.

69439.6.
 (a) Commencing with the 2022–23 academic year, the commission shall provide supplemental grants to students who qualify for the Federal Pell Grant or for state financial aid under this part and who participate in approved apprenticeship programs through campuses of the California Community Colleges. The amount of a supplemental grant awarded under this article shall not exceed a recipient’s actual cost of attendance at the participating community college. The amount and duration of supplemental grants awarded under this article shall be determined by the commission pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission in accordance with Section 69439.8.
(b) To be eligible to receive a grant under this article, a student shall be required to commit to a specified amount of hours in an academic semester in an apprenticeship program approved by the commission. Participating apprenticeship employers and programs shall register with the commission in order for their students to receive grants under this article. The criteria to be met by academic coursework and apprenticeship employers and programs in order to be eligible for participation in the program shall be determined by the commission pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission in accordance with Section 69439.8.

69439.8.
 (a) The commission may adopt regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this article as emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). For purposes of Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of those regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, no regulation adopted by the commission pursuant to this section shall remain in effect for more than 180 days unless the commission complies with all relevant provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

69439.9.
 The operation of this program in any fiscal year is contingent upon the enactment of an appropriation, in the Budget Act or another statute, of an amount deemed sufficient by the commission to implement this article for that fiscal year.