California Senate Bill SB1028 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1028INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson FEBRUARY 14, 2014 An act to amend Section 69439 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1028, as introduced, Jackson. Student financial aid: Cal Grant C awards. Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Act, establishes the Cal Grant C Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under this program. The act requires that a Cal Grant C award be used only for occupational or technical training, as defined, in a course of not less than 4 months. The act requires the commission, after consultation with state and federal agencies, to determine the areas of occupational or technical training for which Cal Grant C awards shall be awarded. Existing law also requires the Student Aid Commission to develop, and regularly review and update at least every 5 years, the areas of occupational or technical training for which students may utilize Cal Grant C awards and to give priority in granting the awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in areas that meet specified criteria. The act requires the maximum award amount and total amount of funding for the Cal Grant C Program to be determined each year in the annual Budget Act. The act requires the number of the awards made each year to be the same as the number of awards made for the 2000-01 fiscal year. The act requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to report every odd-numbered year to the Legislature on the outcomes of the Cal Grant C program, as specified. This bill would revise and recast the act to, among other things, require the number of awards made each year to be at least the same number of awards made for the 2000-01 fiscal year and would require the amount awarded to be not less than $3,009, and not more than $5,000, per award. The bill would reserve 2,500 awards for the California's long-term unemployed. The bill would additionally authorize the award be expended for the student's living expenses. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with specified entities, for purposes of the Cal Grant C program, to prioritize occupational training programs and industry clusters. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified public entities to develop a plan to publicize the grant award program to the California' s long-term unemployed and a plan to make students receiving awards aware of job search and placement services available through specified public entities. The bill would require the commission, instead of the Legislative Analyst's Office, to submit to the Legislature the above-described reports and would require the reports to provide information separately on the awards reserved for the long-term unemployed. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 69439 of the Education Code is amended to read: 69439. (a)  For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:   (1) "Career pathway" means an identified series of positions, work experiences, or educational benchmarks or credentials with multiple access points that offer occupational and financial advancement within a specific career field or related fields over time.   (2) "Economic security" means, with respect to a worker, earning a wage sufficient to support a family adequately, and, over time, to save for emergency expenses and adequate retirement income, based on factors, such as household size, the cost of living in the worker's community, and other factors that may vary by region.   (3) "Industry cluster" means any of the following:   (A) A geographic concentration or emerging concentration of interdependent industries with direct service, supplier, and research relationships.   (B) Independent industries that share common resources in a given regional economy or labor market.   (C) A group of employers closely linked by common products or services, workforce needs, similar technologies, and supply chains in a given regional economic or labor market.   (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.  There   Except as provided in paragraph (4), there  shall be  , at least,  the same number of Cal Grant C awards each year as were made in the 2000-01 fiscal year.  The   (2) A minimum of 2,500 Cal Grant C awards shall be reserved for California's long-term unemployed.   (3)     The  maximum award amount and the total amount of funding shall be determined each year in the annual Budget Act.   Act, but the annual award amount of Cal Grant C awards shall be no less than three thousand nine dollars ($3,009) and no more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per award.   (4) If the total amount of funding provided in the annual Budget Act for a fiscal year is insufficient to provide the same number of Cal Grant C awards made in the 2000-01 fiscal year at the minimum award level of three thousand nine dollars ($3,009) for each award, the commission shall ensure the amount awarded for each award is not less than three thousand nine dollars ($3,009).   (b) "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.  (c) The commission may use criteria it deems appropriate in selecting students  with occupational talents  to receive grants for occupational or technical training  and may use different criteria for awards reserved for 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 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  shall be   may be used  for institutional fees, charges, and other costs, including tuition, plus training-related costs, such as special clothing, local transportation, required tools, equipment, supplies,  and books.   books, and living expenses.  In determining the  amount of grants and training-related costs,   individual award amounts,  the commission shall take into account other state and federal programs available to the applicant. (f) (1) To ensure alignment with the state's dynamic economic needs, the commission, in consultation with appropriate state and federal agencies,  including the Economic and Workforce Development Division of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the California Workforce Investment Board,  shall  develop   identify  areas of occupational and technical training for which students may utilize Cal Grant C awards. The commission,  if necessary, may   to the extent feasible, shall  also consult with  nongovernmental stakeholders that develop or provide workforce training or employ graduates of occupational and technical training programs for this purpose.   representatives of the state's leading competitive and emerging industry clusters, workforce professionals, and career technical educators, to determine which occupational training programs and industry clusters should be prioritized.  (2)  The   (A)     Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the  areas of occupational and technical training developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be regularly reviewed and updated at least every five years, beginning in 2012.  (B) By January 1, 2016, the commission shall update the priority areas of occupational and technical training.  (3) The commission shall give priority in granting Cal Grant C awards to students pursuing occupational or technical training in areas that meet  at least two of  the following criteria:  (A) High employment need.   (A) High employer need or demand and likelihood of the student being placed in a job for which the student is being trained.  (B) High employment salary or wage  projections.   projections for workers employed in the occupations for which they are being trained.   (C) High employment growth.   (C) The likelihood of job placement in a position with a well articulated career pathway to a job providing economic security.   (D) High employment growth in the occupational field or industry cluster for which the student is being trained.  (g) The commission shall determine areas of occupational or technical training that meet the criteria described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) in consultation with the Employment Development  Department   Department, the Economic and Workforce Development Division of   the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and the California Workforce Investment Board  using projections available through the Labor Market Information Data Library.  The commission may supplement the analyses of the Employment Development Department's Labor Market Information Data Library with the labor market analyses developed by the Economic and Workforce Development Division of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the California Workforce Investment Board, as well as the projections of occupational shortages and skills gap developed by industry leaders.  The commission shall publish, and retain, on its Internet Web site a current list of the areas of occupational or technical training that meet the criteria described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f), and update this list as necessary. (h) The commission shall examine the graduation rates and job placement data of eligible programs. Commencing with the 2014-15 academic year, the commission shall give priority to Cal Grant C applicants seeking to enroll in programs that rate high in graduation rates and job placement data.  (i) (1) 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 publicize the existence of the grant award program to the California's long-term unemployed.   (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.   (i)   (j)  (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the  Legislative Analyst's Office   commission  shall submit a report to the Legislature on the outcomes of the Cal Grant C Program on or before April 1, 2015, and on or before April 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter. This report shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, information on all of the  following:   following, with information on awards that are reserved for the long-term unemployed provided separately:  (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. (2) For the report due on or before April 1, 2015, the  Legislative Analyst's Office   commission  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 recipients enrolled before and after implementation of subdivision (f). (3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.