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Committee backs bill to fund student supports at noncredit colleges serving veterans
Summary
AB 14 33 (Sharp Collins) would extend access to student-support funding—academic advising, mental health, DSPS, veteran resource centers—to noncredit and standalone colleges that serve many veterans and adult learners. The committee passed the bill 8-0 and sent it to Appropriations.
Assemblymember LaShay Sharp Collins’s AB 14 33, which would expand eligibility for student-support funding to noncredit colleges and standalone continuing-education institutions that serve many veterans, passed the Assembly Committee on Military and Veteran Affairs by an 8-0 vote and was referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Sharp Collins told the committee noncredit programs provide job training, English-language instruction and other wraparound services that help veterans and highly mobile or nontraditional students transition to civilian careers. “This bill does not take away from the traditional community colleges. It simply ensures that noncredit institutions and standalone colleges can access the same pool of funding to better serve their students,” she said.
Dr. Tina King, president of San Diego College of Continuing Education, told the committee noncredit education serves a large number of veterans and provides cost-free training and support that helps students secure credentials and move into the workforce. She said AB 14 33 would establish a sustainable funding structure so noncredit colleges can offer veteran resource centers, mental health counseling and disability programs commonly funded at credit colleges.
Kevin Sullivan, a Navy veteran and student in San Diego College of Continuing Education’s welding program, described noncredit courses as a “lifeline” that allowed him to pursue training without the financial and academic pressures of traditional college.
Supporters included San Diego College of Continuing Education representatives, Calbright College and several community college districts; no witnesses registered opposition. The committee recorded an 8-0 vote to pass AB 14 33 and refer it to Appropriations.
