Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing state law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides that students who are enrolled in college or other institutions of higher education at least half-time are not eligible for SNAP benefits unless they meet one of several specified exemptions, including participating in an employment and training program for low-income households that is operated by a state or local government, as specified.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, on or before May 31, 2022, to issue a guidance letter to counties, the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges, the Chancellor’s office of the California State University, and the Office of the President of the University of California that clarifies the state and federal eligibility requirements for a campus-based program to be a state-approved local educational programs that increase employability that qualifies for the CalFresh student eligibility exemption described above and that clarifies the application and approval process for a campus-based program to be approved by the department as a state-approved local educational program that increases employability. The bill would require a campus-based program at a campus of the California Community Colleges or at a campus of the California State University that meets the eligibility requirements to be a state-approved local educational program that increases employability to submit a certification application for the program to the department on or before September 1, 2022, and would require a campus-based program at one of those institutions that meets the eligibility requirements to be a state-approved local educational program that increases employability after September 1, 2022, to submit a certification application to the department on or before 6 months following the formation of the program. The bill would request a campus-based program at a campus of the University of California that meets the eligibility requirements to be a state-approved local educational program that increases employability to also submit a certification application for the program by those dates.

This bill would require the department, upon receipt of a certification application from a campus-based program, to approve the campus-based program if it meets the eligibility requirements to be a state-approved local educational program that increases employability. The bill would require the department, on or before September 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, until 2030, to report to specified committees of the Legislature the number of state-approved campus-based local educational programs that increase employability, the number of pending applications, and the number of applications denied, as specified. The bill would also require the department to post that report on its internet website and would authorize the department to implement these provisions through all-county letters or similar instruction.

To the extent the bill would impose new duties on community college districts to submit a certification application to the department, the bill would impose 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 the statutory provisions noted above.