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) (1) A Cal Grant C award shall be utilized only for occupational or technical training in a course of not less than four months that meets the federal gainful employment standards. There shall be the same number of Cal Grant C awards each year as were made in the 2000–01 fiscal year. The total amount of funding for Cal Grant C awards shall be determined each year in the annual Budget Act.
(2)Commencing with the 2017–18 award year, and each award year
thereafter, the maximum award amount for an award year shall be set in accordance with the following:
(A)
(2) The maximum amount of an annual Cal Grant C award for tuition and fees shall not exceed two thousand four hundred sixty-two dollars ($2,462).
(B)The maximum amount of an annual Cal Grant C award for access costs shall not exceed five hundred forty-seven dollars ($547).
(C)An additional award for access not to exceed an annual amount of two thousand four hundred fifty-three dollars ($2,453) shall be provided to community college
students.
(3) The commission shall establish an application deadline of September 2 for students to apply for this award effective with the fall term or semester of the 2018–19 academic year.
(4) Using information provided to the commission by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges pursuant to subdivision (f), the commission shall ensure that students enrolled in a program that has high-employer demand or high-projected employment growth and high-earning outcomes, or is part of a well-articulated career pathway to a job providing economic security, are prioritized for Cal Grant C awards.
(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the maximum amount of a Cal Grant award may be
adjusted in the annual Budget Act for that award year.
(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, living expenses, training-related costs, such as special clothing, local transportation, required equipment and supplies, and books. 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) The Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall annually provide the commission with eligible occupational and technical training programs that meet the conditions set forth in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b). The office of the chancellor shall implement this subdivision with information from each economic and workforce development region.
(g) A
private or independent postsecondary educational institution that meets the definition of a “qualifying institution” set forth in Section 69432.7 shall provide, at a minimum, occupational or technical training programs that meet the conditions set forth in subdivision (b) in order for its Cal Grant C eligible students to receive an award under this section.
(h) A postsecondary educational institution participating in the Cal Grant C program shall provide the commission with information pertaining to a student’s enrollment in an eligible or prioritized program in a timely manner, in order to facilitate the processing of awards.
(i) The commission shall publish, and maintain on its Internet Web site, a current list of the eligible and prioritized occupational and technical training
programs that are in demand in each economic and workforce development region, as determined according to the information provided to the commission pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (h).
(j) (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).
(k) (1) 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, 2018. 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, and to the degree that data are made available, the resulting student debt loads and wage earnings, by program and institution.
(2) For the report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1), 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) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature on or before April 1, 2020, and on or before April 1 of each even-numbered year thereafter, that includes the information specified in paragraph (1).
(4) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.