Community colleges: California College Promise.

Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to accomplish specified policy goals and to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for certain 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 (FAFSA) or a California Dream Act application. This bill would make ineligible for the fee waiver a community college student who has previously earned a degree or certificate from a postsecondary educational institution. The bill would authorize an institution to deem as full time, for the purposes of eligibility for a fee waiver, specified students who are not enrolled in 12 or more semester units. The bill would require the chancellor's office to submit a report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2024, evaluating the use of funding for the California College Promise to waive student fees, with specified content.