Call to Action: Support Education & Workforce Bills Pending on the Governor’s Desk!

 

With the end of the 2024 legislative session, several education and workforce development bills are now headed to Governor Newsom for approval. With your support and action, these bills are one step closer to becoming state law!

Please join us in our advocacy efforts and submit letters of support to the Office of Governor Newsom urging him to sign these critical bills into law! Letters should be submitted as soon as possible via email to this email address: leg.unit@gov.ca.gov

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 letter templates you can modify and use. In addition to submitting letters to the Governor, join us in social media advocacy! Click here to access ready-to-go Twitter/X posts.

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 Letter Template

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  Letter Template

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 Letter Template

AB 3240 (Calderon) CA Ban on Scholarship Displacement: Cal Grants. The California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act of 2021 prevents colleges from reducing a student’s institutional aid due to private scholarships unless the total aid surpasses the cost of attendance. It also prohibits colleges from factoring in private scholarships when determining a student’s eligibility for institutional aid. This bill would, starting July 1, 2025, extend these protections to students eligible for Cal Grants.  Factsheet Letter Template

SB 227 (Durazo) Excluded Workers Program.  This bill would require the Employment Development Department (EDD) to develop a detailed plan to establish a permanent Excluded Workers Program to provide cash assistance that resembles unemployment insurance benefits to unemployed workers who are ineligible for these benefits due to their immigration status. Factsheet  Letter Template