In June 23, 2022, by a majority vote of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Josh Becker and Assembly Member Marc Berman received authorization to proceed with San Mateo County Community College District (San Mateo CCCD) to use their unrestricted general funds to establish a tuition fee waiver and to provide financial assistance for the total cost of attendance for qualifying students of the District.
The major provisions associated with this action would permit West Valley-Mission Committee College District (WVMCCD) to adopt a policy that uses local unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students with the greatest financial need when other fee waivers are not provided to those students, and would require the policy to include a requirement to prepare a fiscal impact statement, including a 3-year projection of the fiscal impact of the fee waiver on the community college district, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California College Promise, to be administered by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the chancellor to distribute funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to community college districts to fund colleges that meet prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college that receives funding under the program to, among other things, waive some or all of the fees for up to 2 academic years for first-time students who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent at the college and complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application.
This bill, if approved by the State Legislature would authorize WVMCCD to use local unrestricted general funds, in addition to funding received under the California College Promise, to provide assistance to students for the total cost of attendance. The bill would define total cost of attendance for a student attending a community college as including the student's tuition and fees, books and supplies, living expenses, transportation expenses, and any other student expenses used to calculate a student's financial need for purposes of federal Title IV student aid programs.
This bill would require the WVMCCD to use local unrestricted general funds for the purposes of these provisions only for students who reside within the boundary of the community college district.
This bill would require the governing board of the WVMCCD to submit a report to the State Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, the Department of Finance, and the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the implementation of these provisions, as specified.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the WVMCCD.
The Fifty Percent Law of Education Code Section 84362, requires all community college districts, regardless of their base aid status, to spend at least half of their “current expense of education” budgetary dollars on “salaries for classroom instructions”. As defined in the Education Code, faculty salaries, classified staff salaries, employee benefits, books, supplies, and equipment replacement account for “current expense for education” and fifty percent of this amount is to be spent on salaries for classroom instructors or faculty.
A district must provide fifty percent of its current expenses of education funds for faculty salaries or receive an exemption by the California Community College (CCC) Board of Governors. A district, who does not comply nor receives an exemption by the CCC Board of Governors, would be in violation of the Fifty Percent Law and the CCC Board of Governors would withhold apportionment funds of a determined amount until the CCC district adheres to the Fifty percent Law.
West Valley-Mission Community College District is a base aid district and HAS been in compliance with the Fifty Percent Law since it’s existence.