(a) The California Community Colleges and the California State University may, and the University of California is encouraged to, coordinate services for qualified students who are veterans or members of the military by clearly designating Military and Veterans Offices and individuals to provide services, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Financial aid counseling.

(2) Academic outreach, admission, and enrollment planning.

(3) Transition concerns.

(4) Postgraduate planning.

(5) Health and mental health services.

(6) Provide tutoring and other learning support services.

(7) Provide career counseling.

(b) The purpose of these Military and Veterans Offices shall be to encourage and facilitate the use of the services listed in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (a) and to assist a qualified student in determining that student’s eligibility for state or federal educational financial aid.

(c) For purposes of this article, “qualified student” means a student who is any of the following:

(1) An active duty member of any of the following:

(A) The Armed Forces of the United States.

(B) The California National Guard.

(C) A reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(2) A veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(3) A family member of a person described in paragraph (1) or (2). For the purposes of this paragraph, “family member” means an individual who is a legal dependent under 28 years of age of a person described in paragraph (1) or (2) living in the household of that person and eligible to be claimed as a dependent on federal or state tax returns.

(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 123, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2009.)