California AB 335

Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education, as defined, as 4 segments of postsecondary education in the state. Existing law establishes the Designation of California Black-Serving Institutions to recognize campuses of these segments that excel at providing academic resources to Black and African American students. Existing law establishes a governing board to approve or deny initial and renewal applications to receive this designation. Existing law designates the California State University Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Excellence as the managing entity and requires it to act as a neutral administrative body tasked with, among other duties, developing the application processes and processing and presenting applications to the governing board. This bill would establish the Designation of California Black-Serving Institutions Grant Program as a competitive grant program to develop and implement new, or expand existing, academic resources and student support services for underserved students, including, but not limited to, Black and African American students. The bill would require the governing board to approve or deny grant applications. The bill would designate the California State University Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Excellence as the managing entity for the grant program and would require it to act as a neutral administrative body tasked with, among other duties, developing the grant application form and a process for grant applicants to apply for grants, and processing and presenting grant applications to the governing board, as specified. The bill would require the managing entity to submit an annual report to the Department of Finance, the Governor, and the Legislature on the grant program, as specified. This bill would establish the Designation of California Black-Serving Institutions Grant Program Fund in the State Treasury, and would require all moneys in the fund to be continuously appropriated to the managing entity to allocate to grant applicants awarded grants pursuant to the provisions described above. The bill would appropriate $75,000,000 from the General Fund to the Designation of California Black-Serving Institutions Grant Program Fund for purposes of awarding grants to California State University campuses and community college districts that apply for grants, as specified.