CalFresh: student eligibility.

Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides that students who are enrolled in college or other institutions of higher education at least half time are not eligible for SNAP benefits unless they meet one of several specified exemptions, including participating in specified employment training programs. This bill would provide that, for the purposes of determining eligibility, certain educational programs, as determined by the State Department of Social Services, shall be considered employment training programs, thereby qualifying a student participating in one of those programs for an exemption, unless prohibited by federal law. The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with representatives from other specified organizations, to establish a protocol to identify and verify all potential exemptions and to identify and verify participation in educational programs, including self-initiated placements, that would qualify a student for an exemption. The bill would require the department to implement these provisions by all-county letters or similar instructions beginning no later than October 1, 2015, until regulations are adopted, and would require the department to adopt regulations on or before October 1, 2017. The bill would require the department to seek and obtain federal approval, as specified, prior to publishing that guidance or regulation, if the United States Department of Agriculture requires federal approval.