(1) Existing law establishes the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, which is maintained by the State Department of Education and consists of pupil data regarding demographic, program participation, enrollment, and statewide assessments.
Existing law establishes the California Cradle-to-Career Data System Workgroup to assess, recommend, and advise about statewide data infrastructure that integrates data from state entities responsible for elementary and secondary education data, entities responsible for early learning data, segments of public higher education, private colleges and universities, state entities responsible for student financial aid, childcare providers, state labor and workforce development agencies, and state departments administering health and human services programs.
Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to contract with entities with expertise in managing data for specified purposes relating to the workgroup's activities. Existing law requires those contracted entities to submit reports to the Department of Finance and the Legislature concerning the establishment of the California Cradle-to-Career Data System, as specified.
This bill would establish the Cradle-to-Career Data System for the purpose of connecting individuals and organizations to trusted information and resources, as a source for actionable data and research on education, economic, and health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities, and to provide for expanded access to tools and services that support the education-to-employment pipeline, as specified.
The bill would establish the California Cradle-to-Career Data System Governing Board in state government, composed of certain representatives from state agencies, educational organizations, and members of the public, who would, among other things, be responsible for strategic direction and implementation of the data system, including ensuring that the data system is serving its intended purposes. The bill would establish the Data and Tools Advisory Board and the Community Engagement Advisory Board to perform certain tasks and make recommendations to the governing board, as specified.
The bill would require the governing board to also provide operational oversight of the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data that the bill would establish within the Government Operations Agency under the direction of the Department of General Services to serve as the managing entity of the data system, as provided.
The bill would authorize information to be provided to the data system by local educational agencies with respect to operational tools, as defined, the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects for the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the State Department of Education, and the California College Guidance Initiative with respect to longitudinal pupil achievement data, the Student Aid Commission with respect to grade point average and other data, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, and the Employment Development Department.
The bill would authorize the Director of Finance to transfer $2,452,000 from a designated item of the Budget Act of 2021 to the State Department of Education, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, the Student Aid Commission, and the Employment Development Department, as scheduled, therefore making an appropriation.
The bill would also include numerous conforming changes.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(2) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction and other services to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Pupils who seek to continue their education in postsecondary educational institutions, and who wish to apply for financial aid, are generally required to apply for this aid through certain standardized forms, which, for most pupils, include the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and, for certain pupils, include the California Dream Act application.
This bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school to ensure that a grade 12 pupil who has not opted out, as specified, completes and submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or, if the pupil is exempt from paying nonresident tuition under existing law, completes and submits a form for purposes of the California Dream Act. The bill would require the Student Aid Commission, on or before July 1, 2022, to adopt regulations that include model opt-out forms and acceptable use policies for the purpose of providing guidance with applicable state laws. The bill would require the school district, county office of education, or charter school to exempt a pupil or the pupil's parent or legal guardian from completing a form if the local educational agency determines the pupil is unable to complete the form, and would prohibit a pupil's ability to graduate from being affected by a pupil's failure to fill out a form. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as a segment of public postsecondary education in this state.
Existing law authorizes a state court, in any action in which that court finds that any of certain student financial aid or other specified programs, or any similar program adopted by the regents, is unlawful, to order the administering entity that is the subject of the lawsuit to terminate any waiver awarded under that statute or action as equitable relief. This provision also prohibits the award of money damages, a tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief, and provides that the segments of public postsecondary education, including the University of California, are immune from the imposition of any award of money damages, tuition refund or waiver, or other retroactive relief in a lawsuit.
Existing law, until June 30, 2021, authorizes the University of California to provide a scholarship as established by the university or a campus of the university, derived from nonstate funds received for that purpose, to any of its enrolled students who meet the eligibility requirements for that scholarship. Existing law, until June 30, 2021, includes this scholarship authorization as a program covered by the above-described law relating to relief available in state court actions.
This bill would extend those end dates by 2 years, thereby making those scholarship provisions operative until June 30, 2023.
(4) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to provide instruction to students at community college campuses.
This bill would require each campus of the California Community Colleges, no later than July 1, 2022, to establish the position of Basic Needs Coordinator and designate a staff person as the Basic Needs Coordinator. The bill would require a basic needs coordinator to act as a broker in identifying, supporting, and linking students to on- and off-campus housing, food, mental health, and other basic needs services and resources, among other responsibilities. The bill would also require each campus, no later than July 1, 2022, to establish a Basic Needs Center, which would be a central location on campus where basic needs services, resources, and staff would be made available to students, as specified. The bill would require each Basic Needs Center, among other duties, to help students to have the information needed to enroll in CalFresh and other relevant government benefit programs.
This bill would further require each campus, no later than February 1, 2022, to develop a document to be made available to students online that clearly lists all on- and off-campus basic needs services and resources, as specified. The bill would require each campus to provide the document to students as a part of campus orientations in either electronic format or paper form, and to provide to faculty, and encourage the faculty to include in their syllabi, the online link to the electronic format of the document, the location of the Basic Needs Center once established, and the contact information for the coordinator once designated. The bill would also require each campus, no later than February 1, 2022, to streamline the application and intake process for on-campus basic needs services and resources, to develop and implement a plan to identify and provide outreach to students who have basic needs insecurity, and to develop a student basic needs tab that is clearly visible and easily accessible from a drop-down menu on the home page of the internet website of the campus, as specified.
This bill would require each community college campus to report specified information to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and would require the office to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature every year beginning on or before May 1, 2023, a report based on the data and information reported by campuses under the bill and information on the use of funds made available to implement the requirements of the bill. Because the paragraph would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
(5) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the trustees, and requests the regents, to establish a dual admissions program for eligible freshman applicants, authorizing a guarantee of admission to a campus of the California State University or University of California contingent on successful completion of lower-division transfer requirements at a campus of the California Community Colleges, as specified. Existing law provides that the agreement shall include specified incentives, and that student participation in the dual admissions program is voluntary.
This bill instead, commencing with the 2023–24 academic year, until the 2026–27 academic year, would require the trustees and the regents to offer for first-time freshman applicants meeting certain criteria a dual admissions program, and would authorize eligible first-time freshman applicants to enter into a dual admissions agreement with the California State University or University of California that guarantees the student's admission to a specific campus of the segment selected by the student at the time of the agreement if the student completes transfer requirements, which may include completion of an associate degree for transfer, within 2 academic years at a California Community College. These requirements would apply to the University of California only if the regents adopt a resolution to make them applicable.
(6) The Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program provides grant funding for California postsecondary students. Existing law specifies the amounts of the maximum Cal Grant A and B awards for students attending independent institutions of higher education. Existing law authorizes community colleges to award an associate degree for transfer, and provides that the amount of Cal Grant A and B tuition awards for future years for students at independent institutions of higher education depends on the number of commitments those institutions make to accept associate degrees for transfer. Specifically, beginning with the 2021–22 award year, the maximum tuition award is either $9,084 or $8,056, depending upon whether the number of new unduplicated transfer students accepted by those institutions who have been given associate degree for transfer commitments in the prior award year exceeds statutory targets.
This bill would fix the 2021–22 award year amount for a new recipient at an independent institution of higher education at $9,220. The bill would, for the 2022–23 award year and beyond, set the maximum tuition award amount as either $9,220 or $8,056, conditioned on the achievement of the target numbers for associate degree for transfer commitments that apply in existing law for the prior award year, thereby delaying for one year the applicable targets.
(7) Under existing law, the Student Aid Commission administers the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, among other duties. The Cal Grant Program comprises the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and the Cal Grant T awards. Existing law establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions, as defined. Under the program, a Cal Grant student's financial need is determined to establish a student's initial eligibility for a Cal Grant award and a renewing recipient's continued eligibility using the federal financial need methodology established under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
This bill would require that, for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 award years, a student with an initial or renewal Cal Grant A award impacted by a change in the student's living status due to the COVID-19 pandemic have the student's eligibility for an initial or renewal Cal Grant A award calculated based on what it would have been had the change in the student's living status due to the COVID-19 pandemic not occurred.
This bill would establish a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award for students who were not awarded a Cal Grant A or B award at the time of the student's high school graduation but who will be enrolled at a California community college during the award year and who meet all of the criteria, as specified.
Under existing law, no more than a total of 41,000 Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards may be granted annually. Existing law additionally requires 50% of the awards be available to all students, including California community college students, and 50% of the awards be reserved for students who will be enrolled at a California community college.
This bill would reduce the total number of Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards that may be granted annually to 13,000 and would make all of the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards available to students who will be enrolled at an institution other than a California community college.
Existing law, commencing with the 2019–20 academic year, provides an additional award, as specified, to Cal Grant A and B Entitlement, Competitive Cal Grant A and B, and Cal Grant C recipients who are attending a public postsecondary educational institution and have dependent children, as defined. Under existing law, the amount appropriated in the annual Budget Act, and any other appropriation for these purposes, shall not exceed $125,000,000.
This bill would increase the amount that can be appropriated for these purposes to $250,000,000.
Commencing with the 2021–22 academic year, this bill would provide an additional award, as specified, to Cal Grant A and B Entitlement, Competitive Cal Grant A and B, and Cal Grant C recipients who are foster youth or former foster youth, as defined, attending a public postsecondary educational institution.
(8) Existing law establishes the Golden State Teacher Grant Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission to provide a grant to each student enrolled in an approved teacher credentialing program within an accredited California institution of higher education who commits to working in a high-need field, as defined, at a priority school for 4 years after the student receives a preliminary teaching credential. Existing law makes funds appropriated for the program in the Budget Act of 2020 available for encumbrance or expenditures by the commission until June 30, 2023. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to publish a list of priority schools by January 1 of each year for which money has been appropriated to support grants under the program. Existing law defines a priority school as a school with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency-type permits over the last 3 years.
This bill instead would require the Student Aid Commission, in coordination with the State Department of Education, to publish the list of priority schools and would make funds appropriated for the program in the Budget Acts of 2020 and 2021 available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2024. The bill would redefine a priority school under the program to mean a school with at least 55% of its pupils being unduplicated pupils, as defined. The bill would delete the requirement for the professional preparation program to be within an accredited California institution of higher education and would add transitional kindergarten to the definition of a high-need field.
(9) Existing law establishes the California State Work-Study Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission to provide University of California, California State University, and California Community College students meeting certain criteria with the opportunity to earn money to help defray their educational costs, while gaining experience in educationally beneficial or career-related employment. Existing law includes out-of-state employers licensed to conduct business in their home state, subject to prior approval of the commission, among the eligible entities to employ participating students under the program.
This bill would revise and recast various provisions of the California State Work-Study Program. Among these changes, the bill would: (A) rename the program as the Learning-Aligned Employment Program, (B) have the commission administer the Learning-Aligned Employment Program in consultation with the office of the President of the University of California, the office of the Chancellor of the California State University, and the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, (C) remove those out-of-state employers from the eligible entities that may employ participating students under the program, (D) limit eligibility to participate in the program to eligible students from underrepresented backgrounds, (E) require participating campuses to prioritize for available learning-aligned employment positions under the program eligible students who are first generation college students, current or former foster youth, homeless, or at risk of being homeless, and (F) require participating campuses to further prioritize these eligible students who are also majoring in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics discipline.
(10) Existing law