Call to Action: Support Education & Workforce Development Bills Pending in the Appropriations Committee!

Please join our advocacy efforts to support education and workforce bills pending before the Appropriations Committee! The hearing will take place Thursday, August 15 upon adjournment of session (session begins at 9:00 am). View the livestream Assembly hearing here and the Senate hearing here. 

Provided below is a list of pending bills and brief descriptions, along with links to the full bill text and fact sheets. You will also find a link to advocacy tools with letter templates, sample emails, phone call scripts, and social media posts you can modify and use. 

Follow us on Twitter/X for the latest bill updates! 

For questions, contact Anna Alvarado, Policy Director, at aalvarado@caedge.org.

AB 359 (Holden) CCAP Dual Enrollment Partnerships. This bill makes changes to the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnerships to align with best practices from other dual enrollment programs and to streamline access for students across the state, like simplifying the application process, and expand partnerships with more colleges. Factsheet   Advocacy Tools

AB 2458 (Berman) Student Parents. This bill seeks to empower student parents by easing financial burdens, facilitating enrollment, and enhancing graduation rates in their pursuit of higher education. This legislation strives to guarantee that student parents access the financial assistance they need, factoring in childcare costs. Furthermore, it mandates college campuses (UC, CSU, CCC) to gather and analyze data to propel student-parent achievement. Factsheet    Advocacy Tools 

AB 2873 (Garcia) Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative. This bill would make changes to Breaking Barriers by setting aside 15% of any future allocated funds to prospective grantees, like community-based organizations, who were unable to secure a workforce board partner entity before the deadline but were able to meet all other requirements. Any funds not used in this allocation will roll over to the next application cycle. Factsheet   Advocacy Tools

SB 227 (Durazo) Excluded Workers Program.  This bill seeks to provide  unemployment insurance benefits to excluded immigrant workers in California who could not access these benefits due to immigration status. The proposal would provide undocumented immigrants experiencing unemployment with $300 per week for up to 20 weeks. Factsheet   Advocacy Tools