MEMBER ADVISORY
October 1, 2019
HACU 2018 Legislative Update for the Western Region
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is providing the following legislative update for member colleges and universities in the Western Region.
The 2018 California Legislative Session saw the passage of the California Community College (CCC) Student Centered Funding Formula. The new funding formula will change the way community colleges are funded from a purely enrollment-based model to one based on enrollment, equity allocations (based on the number of low-income students enrolled), and student success allocations (based on student outcome measures). HACU has been leading the effort on this issue since 2016 and had proposed legislation prior to Governor Brown’s inclusion of related portions in his 2018-19 budget. This new funding formula recognizes and supports those campuses that are serving increasing numbers of underrepresented students and will help ensure students’ completion of a degree or certificate.
The higher education bills that HACU supported throughout the legislative process are listed below. The bills are listed by subject area and their status is included. Many have been signed and chaptered into law. These bills include policies that will assist in providing additional financial resources to underrepresented students and increase AB 540 students’ leadership opportunities in higher education.
AB 540/DREAMers
AB 1887 (Medina): Extends AB 540 to allow students to serve on any higher education board or commission.
Status: Signed – Chapter 182, Statutes of 2018
AB 1895 (Calderon): Requires campuses to allow DREAM Loan Program recipients to select an income-base repayment plan.
Status: Signed – Chapter 747, Statutes of 2018
AB 2477 (Rubio & Low): Establishes DREAM Resources Liaisons on all higher education campuses and high schools.
Status: Vetoed
AB 1037 (Limon): Establishes the Cal Grant B Service Incentive Grant Program for AB 540 students.
Status: Senate Appropriations – Held
AB 3008 (Burke): Expands AB 540 to student dependents of parents with E-2 nonimmigrant classifications.
Status: Assembly Appropriations – Held
Budget
Student Centered Funding Formula: Establishes a new funding formula for California Community Colleges which provides additional funding for low income and underrepresented students.
Status: Chapters 29 & 30, Statutes of 2018
AB 1809 (Ting): Higher Education Omnibus Trailer Bill
Status: Chapter 33, Statutes of 2018
Cal Grants
AB 2306 (Santiago): Expands Cal Grant Award eligibility to 6 years for California Community College students.
Status: Assembly Appropriations – Held
AB 3153 (Levine): Expands Cal Grant Award eligibility for summer school terms.
Status: Senate Appropriations – Held
SB 1471 (Hernandez): Increases the number of Cal Grant Awards from 25,750 to 30,000.
Status: Senate Appropriations – Held
California Community Colleges
AB 1935 (Irwin): Community college tutoring apportionment for degree and transfer level courses.
Status: Senate Appropriations – Held
California State University
AB 2784 (Caballero & Arambula): Establishes an Emergency Student Housing Loan Program to provide loans for housing for students.
Status: Assembly Appropriations – Held
Food Insecurity
AB 1894 (Weber): Authorizes a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Social Services and The California State University System to provide food assistance to students.
Status: Signed – Chapter 746, Statutes of 2018
Foster Youth
SB 967 (Berryhill): Prohibits campuses from charging tuition fees to former foster youth.
Status: Signed – Chapter 688, Statutes of 2018
AB 3089 (Thurmond): Expands the eligibility for foster students awarded a Chafee grant.
Status: Senate Appropriations – Held
Immigration
AB 2642 (Levine): Allows nonprofit organizations from outside California to be appointed guardianship of immigrant unaccompanied minors.
Status: Signed – Chapter 103, Statutes of 2018
AB 1862 (Santiago): Appropriates $10 million to the Department of Social Services for legal services for unaccompanied undocumented minors.
Status: Withdrawn
K-12
AB 2121 (Caballero): Provides migrant students certain exemptions from graduation requirements currently afforded to other groups of highly mobile students.
Status: Signed – Chapter 581, Statutes of 2018
AB 2735 (O’Donnell): Prohibits English Language Learner students who score at proficiency level from being denied enrollment in courses required for graduation.
Status: Signed – Chapter 304, Statutes of 2018
AB 3022 (Fletcher-Gonzalez): Provides for retroactive high school diplomas for deported youth.
Status: Signed – Chapter 772, Statutes of 2018
Military
AB 2894 (Gloria): Refunds tuition and fees for students called to active military duty during an academic term.
Status: Signed – Chapter 346, Statutes of 2018
SB 1071 (Newman): Requires California Community Colleges to establish course credit for prior military training, education and service.
Status: Signed – Chapter 560, Statutes of 2018
University of California
AB 2597 (Arambula): Provides additional funding for UC’s Programs in Medical Education (PRIME) program.
Status: Senate Appropriations – Held
HACU Member Advisories are a service of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)