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AB-2881 Public postsecondary education: students with dependent children.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 10/03/2022 09:00 PM
AB2881:v94#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 2881
CHAPTER 935

An act to amend Sections 66023.5, 66027.4, and 66027.6 of, and to add Sections 66025.81 and 66027.81 to, the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

[ Approved by Governor  September 30, 2022. Filed with Secretary of State  September 30, 2022. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2881, Berman. Public postsecondary education: students with dependent children.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California as the 3 public segments of postsecondary education in the state. The missions and functions of these segments are set forth in the Donahoe Higher Education Act.
This bill would require the California State University and each community college district, and request the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a student parent, as defined, by no later than July 1, 2023. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires each campus of the California Community Colleges to establish a Basic Needs Center, defined as a central location on campus where basic needs services, resources, and staff are made available to students, by no later than July 1, 2022. Existing law requires each Basic Needs Center to help ensure that students have the information they need to enroll in CalFresh and other relevant government benefits programs.
This bill would specifically require each Basic Needs Center to also ensure that students have the information they need to enroll in the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), and the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). To the extent the bill imposes additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University and each campus of the California Community Colleges, and requests the Regents of the University of California, as a part of campus orientation for all campuses of their respective segments, to provide educational information about CalFresh and the student eligibility requirements for CalFresh to all incoming students.
This bill would add educational information and eligibility requirements for the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), and the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to that requirement and request. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) Existing law requires each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges, and requests each campus of the University of California, to include on the internet website-based student account associated with a student’s attendance at the institution notice of the specified public services and programs, including CalFresh.
This bill would specifically add the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), and the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to that list of public services and programs. The bill would also require each campus of the California State University and of the California Community Colleges, and request each campus of the University of California, by no later than February 1, 2023, to host on its internet website, as provided, a student parent internet web page that includes information on all on- and off-campus student parent services and resources, as specified. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include legislative findings and declarations, and state legislative intent, relating to these provisions.
(5) 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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) A March 2021 report from Wheelhouse at the University of California, Davis found that among the nearly 1,500,000 California college and university students who applied for financial aid in 2018, 202,327 were student parents, representing 13.4 percent.
(2) The Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimated the share of student parents and the demographic characteristics of those parents. The organization found that one in five college students is parenting and that student parents are almost twice as likely to leave college without a degree after six years. Among students of color, a higher proportion are parenting while in college: 33 percent of Black students, 30 percent of Native American students, and 21 percent of Latinx students have children. Student parents face greater economic barriers than students without children: over two-thirds of student parents live in or near poverty, and student parents have higher levels of unmet financial need and higher median student debt.
(3) Addressing the needs of student parents can also help higher education systems reach their goals of reducing equity gaps for populations that have been historically underserved in higher education.
(4) Governor Newsom in his 2022–23 Budget proposal announced that his administration is establishing, at the recommendation of the California Governor’s Council for Post-Secondary Education, an overarching goal of achieving 70 percent postsecondary degree and certificate attainment among working-aged Californians by 2030.
(5) According to California Competes, by 2025 California would need over 2,000,000 additional certificates and degrees beyond what it is on track to produce. California Competes also found that 6,800,000 Californians 25 to 54 years of age, inclusive, have a high school diploma but no college degree, and 57 percent of them have dependent children.
(6) Student parents will play a critical role in both growing higher education enrollments and the number of college graduates in the state.
(7) Increasing the educational attainment level of student parents in particular will also have ripple effects for education and the economy.
(8) Parental education level has been linked to the academic and economic success of their children, and increasing the educational attainment of parents produces cost savings for states in terms of reduced spending on public benefits and increased tax revenue.
(9) Helping student parents reach their educational goals will have a multiplier effect of increasing family income and helping more children succeed in school.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to support students with dependent children who are enrolled at the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges.
(c) It is also the intent of the Legislature that, upon the implementation of the California Cradle-to-Career Data System established pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 10860) of Chapter 8.5 of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, future data and outcome reporting on student parents be linked through, and conducted in accordance with the privacy requirements of, the California Cradle-to-Career Data System.

SEC. 2.

 Section 66023.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:

66023.5.
 (a) As used in this section:
(1) “Basic needs services and resources” includes, but is not limited to, housing, food, clothing, feminine hygiene, diapers, technology, childcare, and mental health services and resources.
(2) “Coordinator” means a basic needs coordinator established pursuant to this section.
(b) Each campus of the California Community Colleges shall do all of the following:
(1) No later than July 1, 2022, establish the position of the Basic Needs Coordinator, and designate a staff person as the Basic Needs Coordinator to serve as the single point of contact for students experiencing basic needs insecurity related to basic needs services and resources. The coordinator shall 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. To ensure the effectiveness and impact of this position, the coordinator shall be a dedicated position solely focused on addressing the basic needs of students and meet qualifications such as experience providing services to high-need and diverse populations. The coordinator shall oversee and coordinate with other staff tasked with addressing students’ basic needs, shall inform students of all on- and off-campus basic needs services and resources and how to access them, and shall develop on- and off-campus partnerships to provide basic needs services and resources to their students.
(2) (A) No later than July 1, 2022, establish a Basic Needs Center, which means a central location on campus where basic needs services, resources, and staff are made available to students. The Basic Needs Center is intended to be a one-stop, single location and point of contact for students to more easily access and gain awareness of basic needs services and resources. The campus shall make a reasonable effort to locate all on-campus basic needs services and resources at the Basic Needs Center. If the campus cannot reasonably locate all basic needs services or resources at the Basic Needs Center, the campus shall provide students with the location and contact information, including name, telephone number, and email address, for all basic needs services and resources not located in the Basic Needs Center. The coordinator shall be housed in the Basic Needs Center.
(B) Each Basic Needs Center shall help ensure that students have the information they need to enroll in CalFresh, the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and other relevant government benefits programs. Each Basic Needs Center shall coordinate with their campus financial aid department or financial aid office. This section shall not be construed to require or encourage the Basic Needs Center to be combined or colocated with the financial aid department or financial aid office. The funding made available by the Budget Act of 2021 to implement this section, or any subsequent Budget Act or statute to implement this section, shall not be used to combine or colocate the Basic Needs Center with the financial aid department or financial aid office and shall not be used for the administration of student financial aid programs, including staffing. Each Basic Needs Center shall connect students to the financial aid department or financial aid office as appropriate to ensure that students are receiving all available financial aid. Each Basic Needs Center shall coordinate with their local homelessness response system to refer students to community resources available to address homelessness in addition to services and resources provided by the campus. Basic Needs Centers shall be authorized to provide support to students who can be reasonably expected to enroll in the upcoming term and to provide support to students during summer and winter breaks who were previously enrolled or are enrolled for the upcoming fall or spring term.
(C) Campuses shall endeavor, to the extent feasible, to use a portion of any funds made available for basic needs support for providing funds directly to students to address urgent needs. To the extent that a Basic Needs Center is already in place, that center may be used to satisfy the requirements of this section. If the existing Basic Needs Center fulfills only part of the requirements of this section, basic needs services and resources shall be expanded as needed to satisfy all the requirements of this section.
(3) (A) No later than February 1, 2022, develop a document that shall be provided to students at the Basic Needs Center, once established pursuant to paragraph (2), in either electronic format or paper form, and that shall be made available to students online, that clearly lists all on- and off-campus basic needs services and resources that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(i) The description of the service or resource.
(ii) The location of where the service or resource is provided.
(iii) The point of contact for the service or resource, including a name, telephone number, and email address.
(iv) Any eligibility restrictions on accessing the service or resource.
(B) Provide the document to students as a part of campus orientations in either electronic format or paper form.
(C) Provide to faculty the online link to the electronic format of the document, the location of the Basic Needs Center, once established pursuant to paragraph (2), and the contact information for the coordinator, once designated pursuant to paragraph (1), and encourage faculty to include the online link to the electronic format of the document, the location of the Basic Needs Center, and the contact information for the coordinator in their syllabi.
(D) To ensure that the document remains useful to students, the document shall be reviewed, updated, and made available online on both the internet website of the campus via the student basic needs tab and the internet website-based student account associated with a student’s attendance at the institution, as specified in paragraph (6), no later than the first day of every fall and spring semester or no later than the first day of every fall and spring quarter.
(4) No later than February 1, 2022, streamline the application and intake process for on-campus basic needs services and resources to minimize duplication and eliminate barriers to access. If an application is required, develop and use a single application for students to receive on-campus basic needs services and resources.
(5) No later than February 1, 2022, develop and implement a plan to identify and provide outreach to students, including nontraditional students, who have basic needs insecurity related to housing, food, and mental health. Once the coordinator is designated pursuant to paragraph (1) and the Basic Needs Center is established pursuant to paragraph (2), the outreach shall include information about the coordinator and the Basic Needs Center.
(6) No later than February 1, 2022, provide a student basic needs tab that is clearly visible and easily accessible from a drop-down menu on the home page of the campus’ internet website and include the information described in paragraph (3) conspicuously on both the internet website of the campus via the student basic needs tab and the internet website-based student account associated with a student’s attendance at the institution. Once the coordinator is designated pursuant to paragraph (1) and the Basic Needs Center is established pursuant to paragraph (2), information about the coordinator and Basic Needs Center shall also be included on both the internet website of the campus via the student basic needs tab and the internet website-based student account associated with a student’s attendance at the institution.
(c) (1) Each campus of the California Community Colleges shall report to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges information that shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:
(A) The description and number of basic needs services and resources, broken down by category.
(B) The number of students served by the basic needs services and resources.
(C) The socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of these students.
(D) Challenges and best practices in the implementation of the basic needs services and resources.
(E) Whether students who used the basic needs services and resources remained enrolled or graduated from a campus maintained by the district.
(2) The data and information reported under this subdivision shall be disaggregated by each basic needs service and resource, where applicable.
(d) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall 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 pursuant to subdivision (c) and information on the use of funds made available to implement this section.

SEC. 3.

 Section 66025.81 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66025.81.
 (a) (1) By no later than July 1, 2023, the California State University and each community college district shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a student parent.
(2) In implementing this subdivision, each campus of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California is encouraged to use information from any or a combination of the following to help determine a student parent’s eligibility for the priority registration established pursuant to this subdivision:
(A) The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
(B) The California Dream Act Application (CADAA).
(C) The application to receive a fee waiver pursuant to Section 76300.
(D) Any campus form or documentation that identifies student parents.
(b) For purposes of this section, “student parent” means a student who has a child or children under 18 years of age who will receive more than half of their support from that student.

SEC. 4.

 Section 66027.4 of the Education Code is amended to read:

66027.4.
 As a part of campus orientation, the Trustees of the California State University shall provide, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to provide, for all campuses of their respective segments, and each campus of the California Community Colleges shall provide, educational information about CalFresh (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) (Section 17052 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC) (Section 17052.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (Article 2 (commencing with Section 123275) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code), and the student eligibility requirements for CalFresh, CalEITC, YCTC, and WIC to all incoming students.

SEC. 5.

 Section 66027.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:

66027.6.
 (a) Each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges shall, and each campus of the University of California is requested to, include on the internet website-based student account associated with a student’s attendance at the institution notice of the following public services and programs:
(1) The CalFresh program.
(2) Resources, as determined by the institution to be most appropriate, for county or local housing services, which may also include, if determined to be appropriate for the geographic area where the institution is located, resources for legal assistance relating to housing.
(3) Resources, as determined by the institution to be most appropriate, for county or local mental health services.
(4) The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC).
(5) The Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC).
(6) The California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
(b) Each institution shall include, immediately adjacent to the notices specified in subdivision (a), a link to the internet web page for each noticed program or resource.
(c) Each institution may use existing resources to comply with the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b).

SEC. 6.

 Section 66027.81 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66027.81.
 Each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges shall, and each campus of the University of California is requested to, do all of the following:
(a) By no later than February 1, 2023, host on its internet website a student parent internet web page that is clearly visible and easily accessible from a drop-down menu on the internet home page of the campus’s internet website and include the information described in subdivision (b) conspicuously on both the internet website of the campus via the student parent internet web page, and on the internet website-based student account associated with a student’s attendance at the institution.
(b) (1) The student parent internet web page shall contain information that clearly lists all on- and off-campus student parent services and resources that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A) The description of the service or resource.
(B) The location where the service or resource is provided.
(C) The point of contact for the service or resource, including a name, telephone number, and email address.
(D) Any eligibility restrictions on accessing the service or resource.
(2) Of the services and resources provided on the student parent internet web page pursuant to paragraph (1), the student parent internet web page shall include, but is not limited to, information on the following on- and off-campus student parent services and resources:
(A) Priority registration for a student parent established pursuant to Section 66025.81.
(B) The CalFresh Program.
(C) The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC).
(D) The Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC).
(E) The California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
(c) Provide the student parent internet web page link to students as a part of campus orientations.
(d) Provide to faculty the student parent internet web page link and encourage faculty to include the student parent internet web page link in their syllabi.
(e) To ensure that the student parent internet web page remains useful to student parents, the student parent internet web page shall be reviewed and updated no later than the first day of every fall and spring semester or no later than the first day of every fall and spring quarter.

SEC. 7.

 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.