(a) There is hereby established the Every Kid Counts (EKC) College Savings Program.

(b) The Student Aid Commission shall implement and administer a grant program that supports local governments and other entities that sponsor one or more comprehensive citywide or regional children’s savings account programs to help families, especially low-income families with young children, establish and maintain college savings accounts.

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(c) The commission shall distribute grants to qualifying entities determined pursuant to subdivision (d) based on how many of these entities are eligible to receive grants pursuant to subdivision (d), the amount of available funding to award grants under the Every Kid Counts (EKC) College Savings Program, the number of students that each participating entity intends to serve under the program, and the percentage of low-income families residing in the community served by each participating entity. The amount of each grant award to a participating entity shall be, at minimum, one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

(d) A qualifying entity shall meet all of the following requirements in order to receive a grant under this title:

(1) Have a college savings program in operation or development that primarily targets pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, on or before December 31, 2018.

(2) Have moneys, in addition to funding allocated pursuant to this title, to support its college savings program.

(3) Agree to enter into an evaluation consortium that allows for independent research and evaluation of activities and outcomes associated with its college savings program.

(e) Funding allocated to participating entities pursuant to this title may be used for any of the following purposes:

(1) To award seed, matching, or incentive grants for individual family college savings accounts.

(2) For outreach efforts to educate families about local college savings programs that are in operation or development.

(3) To support an established evaluation consortium that monitors, collects data on, and provides analysis on short-term and long-term college savings program trends and the development of best practices. Support under this paragraph may include any of the following:

(A) Data collection and evaluation of college savings account creation and activity.

(B) Data collection and evaluation of the postsecondary aspirations, enrollment, and degree completion for beneficiaries of college savings accounts.

(C) Efforts to help beneficiaries of college savings accounts receive high school diplomas, or the equivalent.

(4) To fund one-time administrative costs related to the Every Kid Counts (EKC) College Savings Program.

(f) The commission shall adopt, as necessary, application procedures, forms, administrative guidelines, and other requirements for purposes of implementing and administering the Every Kid Counts (EKC) College Savings Program.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 7, Sec. 27. (AB 108) Effective March 13, 2018.)