Bill Text: CA SB893 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Postsecondary education: tuition and fees.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 8-2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB893 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB893-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 893 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 19, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Nguyen
(Principal coauthor: Senator Leyva)
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Brown, Obernolte, and
Steinorth)
(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Fuller, Huff, and Runner)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Lackey and Mayes)
JANUARY 20, 2016
An act to amend Section 76300 of, and to add Section 68121.5 to,
the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 893, as amended, Nguyen. Postsecondary education: tuition and
fees.
Existing law requires the Regents of the University of California,
the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the
Trustees of the California State University, and the governing board
of each community college district to collect fees from students
attending those postsecondary education institutions. This provision
is applicable to the Regents of the University of California only if
the regents, by resolution, make it applicable.
This bill would prohibit the regents, the trustees, and the
governing board of each community college district from collecting
any fees or tuition of any kind from a student in an undergraduate
program who is the surviving dependent, as defined, of any individual
killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2,
2015, if the dependent meets the financial need requirements of the
Cal Grant A Program and either the dependent was a
resident of California on December 2, 2015, or if
the individual killed in the attack was a resident of California on
that date. The bill would require the governing board of each
community college district to waive fee requirements for any student
in an undergraduate program who is a surviving dependent. The bill
would require the California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board to identify all persons who are eligible for tuition and
fee waivers pursuant to the bill, to notify these persons or their
parents or guardians of that eligibility, and, if requested by the
public segments of postsecondary education in the state, on a
case-by-case basis, to confirm the eligibility of persons requesting
the waiver of tuition and fees. This prohibition
The bill would apply to the University of California only
if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable. To the extent that
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 these
statutory provisions.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) On December 2, 2015, a terrorist attack occurred at the Inland
Regional Center in San Bernardino County in which 14 people were
killed and 21 22 people were injured.
(b) President Obama's speech from the oval office stated that the
San Bernardino attack was "an act of terrorism designed to kill
innocent people."
(c) Governor Brown proclaimed a state of emergency to assist San
Bernardino County and waived fees for copies of certificates of death
records by any person who suffered a loss of a family member due to
that terrorist attack.
(d) The Legislature established a precedent for providing
financial assistance for dependents of victims of the September 11,
2001, terror attacks when it passed Assembly Bill 1746 (Chapter 450
of the Statutes of 2002).
(e) Existing law requires the University of California, the
Hastings College of the Law, and the California State University to
waive systemwide fees and tuition fees for any surviving spouse or
surviving child, natural or adopted, of peace officers killed in the
performance of active law enforcement.
SEC. 2. Section 68121.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
68121.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, no mandatory
systemwide fees or tuition of any kind shall be required or collected
by the Regents of the University of California or the Trustees of
the California State University from a student who is in an
undergraduate program and who is the surviving dependent of any
individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on
December 2, 2015, if he or she meets the financial need requirements
set forth in Section 69432.7 for the Cal Grant A Program and either
of the following apply:
(1) The surviving dependent was a resident of California on
December 2, 2015.
(2) The individual killed in the attack was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015.
(b) (1) The California Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board shall identify all persons who are eligible for tuition and fee
waivers pursuant to this section or subdivision (k) of Section
76300. That board shall notify these persons or, in the case of
minors, the parents or guardians of these persons, of their
eligibility for tuition and fee waivers under these provisions. This
notification shall be in writing, and shall be received by all of the
appropriate persons no later than July 1, 2016.
2017.
(2) The Trustees of the California State University, the Regents
of the University of California, and the governing board of each
community college district in the state shall waive tuition and fees,
as specified in this section and in subdivision (k) of Section
76300, for any person who can demonstrate eligibility. If requested
by the California State University, the University of California, the
Hastings College of the Law, or a California Community College, the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, on a
case-by-case basis, shall confirm the eligibility of persons
requesting the waiver of tuition and fees, as provided for in this
section.
(c) A determination of whether a person was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015, shall be based on the criteria set
forth in this chapter for determining nonresident and resident
tuition.
(d) (1) "Dependent," for purposes of this section, means the
surviving spouse or a surviving child, natural or adopted, of an
individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the
terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015.
(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual
killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015,
is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until
____. January 1, 2027.
(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of
an individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on
December 2, 2015, is entitled to the waivers under this section until
that person attains 30 years of age.
(4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attack in
San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, who is determined to be eligible
by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board,
is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until ____.
SEC. 3. 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 all 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.
(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) 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 terrorist attack
in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, 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 December 2,
2015.
(2) The individual killed in the attack was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015.
(l) 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.
(m) A determination of whether a person was a resident of
California on December 2, 2015, for purposes of subdivision (k) 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.
(n) (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 and Government Claims Board, is also
entitled to the waivers provided in this section until January 1,
2013.
(o) (1) "Dependent," for purposes of subdivision (k), means the
surviving spouse or a surviving child, natural or adopted, of an
individual killed as a result of injuries sustained during the
terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015.
(2) A dependent who is the surviving spouse of an individual
killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015,
is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until
____. January 1, 2027.
(3) A dependent who is the surviving child, natural or adopted, of
an individual killed in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino on
December 2, 2015, is entitled to the waivers under this section until
that person attains 30 years of age.
(4) A dependent of an individual killed in the terrorist attack in
San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, who is determined to be eligible
by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board,
is entitled to the waivers provided in this section until ____.
(p) (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
(k), inclusive.
(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 (k), 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 (k), 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.
(q) The board of governors shall adopt regulations implementing
this section.
SEC. 4. 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.
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 Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide immediate educational and economic relief to
the surviving dependents of any individual killed in the terrorist
attack in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, it is necessary for
this act to take effect immediately.
