Amended  IN  Assembly  March 14, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 843

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

February 20, 2019

An act to amend Sections 69613.8 and 69615.8 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid, and making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 843, as amended, Rodriguez. Student financial aid: Assumption Program of Loans for Education.
Existing law establishes the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, administered by the Student Aid Commission, under which any person enrolled in an eligible institution of postsecondary education, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher in an eligible school, if the teacher satisfies certain conditions. The program provides additional loan assumption benefits of $1,000 or $2,000 per year in assumed liability, as specified, to a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching, and who teaches, mathematics, science, or special education in certain percentiles of Academic Performance Index (API) rankings.
This bill would repeal the additional loan assumption benefits that rely on API rankings, and instead provide additional loan assumption benefits of an unspecified amount to a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching, and who teaches, mathematics, science, special education, bilingual education, or career technical education in a school district that is determined to be in need of differentiated assistance, as specified. The bill would express the intent of the Legislature to restore the funding for the Assumption Program of Loans for Education to its 2011–12 fiscal year level. The bill would require the commission to award 7,200 new warrants for the assumption of loans under the program in the 2019–20 2020–21 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission for the funding of warrants for the assumption of loans under the program for the 2019–20 2020–21 fiscal year.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to restore the funding for the Assumption Program of Loans for Education (APLE) to its 2011–12 fiscal year level.

SEC. 2.

 Section 69613.8 of the Education Code is amended to read:

69613.8.
 (a) In addition to the amounts set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 69613.4, for each of the four years of classroom instruction referenced in subdivision (a) of Section 69613.4, ____ dollars ($____) of additional liability shall be assumed for a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching, and who teaches, mathematics, science, special education, bilingual education, or career technical education in a school district that is determined to be in need of differentiated assistance pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 52071.
(b) Not more than a total of five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be expended in any academic year for the purposes of this section.
(c) The commission shall award benefits payable under this section upon receipt of all documentation necessary to establish eligibility for the additional loan assumption benefits. Payments shall be made to applicants in the order received until the five million dollars ($5,000,000) authorized by subdivision (b) has been expended.

SEC. 3.

 Section 69615.8 of the Education Code is amended to read:

69615.8.
 Notwithstanding any other law, in the 2019–20 2020–21 fiscal year, the commission shall award 7,200 new warrants for the assumption of loans pursuant to this article.

SEC. 4.

 The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Student Aid Commission for the funding of warrants for the assumption of loans under the Assumption Program of Loans for Education (Article 5 (commencing with Section 69612) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code) for the 2019–20 2020–21 fiscal year.
SEC. 5.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In light of critical teacher shortages in certain schools and areas of expertise, it is urgent that the Assumption Program of Loans for Education be adequately funded for the 2019–20 fiscal year at the earliest possible time, and it is therefore necessary that this act take effect immediately.