AB 1930

Assembly Bill 1930 (Skinner)
Hunger Free Education Opportunity Act
ISSUE
Opportunities for low-income college students to escape poverty and enter the middle class have
narrowed over the past two decades. A report from the Pew Research Center shows the decline
in low-income students attending college. It also shows that those who do attend college, are less
likely to finish and more likely to be strapped with unbearable debt when they graduate1. The
mortgage crisis and prolonged economic recession has meant that fewer low-income and
working class families have the resources to leverage in order to support their children in
securing a college degree.
Many non-traditional college students chose to return to school or attend school for the first time
during the recession because they could not find work in the field that they had been trained in or
because the job they held prior to the recession no longer existed.
More college students are limited in their opportunities to thrive in college by hardships like
homelessness and hunger. Because a person with a college degree or vocational certificate from
an accredited school is more likely to be employed, California should find ways to support lowincome college students so as to reduce barriers to graduation.
AB 1930 would help low-income students stay in school and avert hunger by improving the
likelihood that students eligible for CalFresh federal food assistance receive that assistance.
AB 1930 (SKINNER)
In order to be eligible for CalFresh, federal law requires students attending school more than
half-time (as defined by the institution) to also be working 20 hours per week or more unless
they are eligible for an exemption under federal law. AB 1930 establishes statewide standard
protocols for screening low-income college students for federal exemptions.
AB 1930 will result in fewer denials of eligible low-income college students, not only reducing
hunger, but bringing in much needed federal food assistance to support disadvantaged students
and reinforce our state’s investment in their education.
1
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/15/college-enrollment-among-low-income-students-still-trailsricher-groups/
Assemblymember Nancy Skinner
Staff Contact: Tony Bui (916) 319-2015 or [email protected]

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