SECTIONS 69999.10-69999.30 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 69999.10-69999.30

69999.10. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program.

69999.12. There is hereby established the California National Guard
Education Assistance Award Program.

69999.14. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The California National Guard exists to provide a military
organization in California with the capability to protect the lives
and property of the people of the state during periods of natural
disaster and civil disturbances, and to perform other functions
required by the Military and Veterans Code or as directed by the
Governor.
(2) The California National Guard performs an essential public
purpose in protecting the health, safety, and property of California'
s citizens and, in order to fulfill its objectives, it is necessary
for the California National Guard to have sufficient human resources
to deal with natural or human-caused disasters and emergencies.
(3) An educational assistance award program for members of the
California National Guard would enhance retention rates within the
California National Guard. Similar educational assistance programs
have been highly successful in other states and have resulted in
substantially higher retention rates.
(b) (1) As citizen soldiers, members of the California National
Guard represent California's labor force, which is a diverse
workforce comprised of skilled and talented workers from all regions
of the state. Education assistance awards have the added benefit of
improving the skills, competencies, and abilities of the servicemen
and servicewomen in the California National Guard who make
significant contributions to our economy and are a vital component of
the civilian workforce. It is the intent of the Legislature that
members of the California National Guard use this education
assistance program to enhance the state's highly skilled and highly
trained civilian labor force.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the
California National Guard has the ability to retain its most
competent and capable members, both in the present and in the future.
The Legislature recognizes that every member of the California
National Guard represents additional federal funding to the State of
California annually. Increasing the strength of the California
National Guard through higher retention rates would augment the total
federal revenue to the state, leading to additional money flowing
into the General Fund as tax revenue.
(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that, in order
to fulfill the public program of maintaining required strength in
the California National Guard, an inducement be provided to members
of the California National Guard by making education assistance
awards available to California National Guard members seeking to
improve themselves through higher education. It is the intent of the
Legislature that these assistance awards be available to California
National Guard members who serve the state faithfully.

69999.16. (a) Commencing January 1 of the 2009-10 academic year,
and each academic year thereafter, any qualifying member of the
California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval
Militia may apply for a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award.
(b) A qualifying member shall meet all of the following conditions
to be eligible to receive a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award:
(1) The person is a resident within the meaning of Section 68017.
(2) The person is an active member of, and has served two years
in, the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the
Naval Militia.
(3) The person has been accepted or registered at, or enrolled in,
a qualifying institution, as defined in subdivision (l) of Section
69432.7.
(4) The person agrees to use the award to obtain a certificate,
degree, or diploma that he or she does not hold at the time he or she
applies for the award, and enrolls in at least three academic units
per semester, or the equivalent thereof.
(5) The person has submitted the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) to the United States Department of Education.
(c) Each person applying for a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award shall submit an application for an award to the
Adjutant General.
(d) The Adjutant General shall do all of the following:
(1) Annually identify the skills most needed by the California
National Guard to retain members who possess, or seek to possess,
those identified skills.
(2) Prioritize those applicants who qualify for an award pursuant
to subdivision (b) based on the skills most needed by the California
National Guard, as identified pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) Select award recipients from among eligible applicants
pursuant to subdivision (e).
(4) Certify the eligibility of applicants to the Student Aid
Commission.
(5) Notify recipients of their selection for an award.
(e) The Adjutant General shall select recipients who have been
judged by the Adjutant General to have outstanding ability on the
basis of criteria that may include, but shall not be limited to, any
of the following:
(1) The Military Occupational Specialty Code or the Air Force
Specialty Code.
(2) An annual noncommissioned officer evaluation report or officer
evaluation report of the preceding two years.
(3) A memorandum from the applicant's commander recommending the
applicant for the award.
(4) Commendations the applicant has received.
(5) An essay, written by the applicant, explaining why education
is important to the applicant.
(f) The number of awards issued by the Student Aid Commission in
any fiscal year shall be limited to the number authorized in the
annual Budget Act for that year, but in no event shall exceed 1,000
in any fiscal year.
(g) The Student Aid Commission shall issue the awards in
accordance with Section 69999.18.

69999.18. (a) The Student Aid Commission is responsible for issuing
awards authorized by Section 69999.16, upon receipt of a certificate
from the Adjutant General verifying that the applicant meets the
eligibility requirements of this article. The commission shall
provide any information to the Military Department that is necessary
to meet the reporting requirements of Section 69999.24.
(b) The amount of an award issued pursuant to this article shall
be as follows:
(1) For a recipient attending the University of California or the
California State University, the maximum amount of the Cal Grant A
award, pursuant to Section 66021.2, as adjusted in the annual Budget
Act.
(2) For a recipient attending a community college, the maximum
amount of the Cal Grant B award, pursuant to Section 66021.2, as
adjusted in the annual Budget Act.
(3) For a recipient attending a nonpublic institution, the maximum
amount of a Cal Grant A award for a student attending the University
of California pursuant to Section 66021.2, as adjusted in the annual
Budget Act.
(c) An award used for graduate studies shall not exceed the
maximum amount of a Cal Grant A award, as specified in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b), plus five hundred dollars ($500) for books and
supplies.
(d) The award amount under subdivisions (b) and (c) shall not
exceed the difference between the recipient's cost of attendance and
any other student financial aid and educational benefits pursuant to
the federal Montgomery GI Bill (38 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.) or any
other federal educational benefits program for veterans.
(e) California National Guard Education Assistance awards may be
renewed for each new academic year, for a maximum of the greater of
either (1) four years of full-time equivalent enrollment or (2) the
duration for which the qualifying member would otherwise be eligible
pursuant to the Cal Grant Program (Chapter 1.7 (commencing with
Section 69430)), if the Adjutant General certifies the qualifying
member's eligibility and the qualifying member maintains at least a
2.0 cumulative grade point average.

69999.20. Qualifying members shall not receive both a California
National Guard Education Assistance award and any Cal Grant award for
the same academic year. A qualifying member under this article who
is also eligible for a Cal Grant award may elect between an award
under this article and any Cal Grant award for the same academic
year.

69999.22. The Student Aid Commission, in consultation with the
Military Department, shall adopt emergency rules and regulations,
pursuant to Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, for the purpose
of administering this article. These rules and regulations shall
include provisions that establish criteria for selecting award
recipients, including priorities for allocating available money to
applicants. The Student Aid Commission may solicit the advice of
representatives from postsecondary educational institutions regarding
any proposed rules and regulations.

69999.23. (a) Costs incurred by the Student Aid Commission for
issuing and processing awards shall be reimbursed through an
interagency agreement from appropriations in the annual Budget Act to
the Military Department for purposes of this article.
(b) The Student Aid Commission may enter into contracts with a
public agency or a private entity to improve the processing and
distribution of awards through the use of electronic networks and
unified databases.

69999.24. The Student Aid Commission shall report annually to the
Legislature regarding program participation, including, but not
necessarily limited to, both of the following, as categorized on the
basis of age, ethnicity, and gender:
(a) The total number of participants in the program established by
this article.
(b) The number of participants who receive a California National
Guard Education Assistance Award, classified by academic year.

69999.26. The Legislative Analyst shall, on or before January 1,
2016, prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the program
established in this article. The report may include recommendations
for modifying or extending this article.

69999.28. This article shall become operative only upon an
appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of this article.

69999.30. This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2019,
and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.