BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 91|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 91
Author: Portantino (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/22/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Price,
Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Liu, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 8/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Runner, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/31/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Community college financial aid
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Chancellors Office of the
California Community Colleges to establish a voluntary
pilot program to increase student participation in state
and federal financial aid programs, outlines the parameters
of the pilot, and requires the Legislative Analyst's Office
to report to the Legislature on the results of the pilot
program and to make recommendations for its statewide
expansion.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for a variety of student
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financial aid programs including the Cal Grant programs and
the Community College Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver
Program. Existing law requires that eligibility for a Cal
Grant and the determination of financial need be
accomplished using the federal financial need methodology
and application (the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid, or FAFSA), and that this application be used for all
programs funded by the state or a public institution of
post-secondary education as well as all federal programs
administered by a postsecondary educational institution.
Existing law makes an exception to this requirement for the
BOG Fee Waiver Program which is authorized to use a
simplified application designed for that sole purpose.
Existing law requires the Chancellor's Office of the
California Community Colleges (CCC) to develop a statement
that individual students will be asked to sign, which
acknowledges that federal and state funds are available to
assist with the costs of college and that information
regarding these programs, and assistance in applying for
those funds can be obtained at the financial aid office.
The Chancellor is required to request the colleges to
require students to sign this acknowledgment in the
application for enrollment at all campuses of the community
colleges.
Existing law also requires the Chancellor's Office to
develop a statement to individual students receiving the
BOG Fee Waiver, who did not apply for federal student aid,
informing them about the benefits of the federal programs,
the application process, and the availability of assistance
to apply for these programs. Existing law also requires
the Chancellor's Office to request colleges to provide this
statement to all students who meet this description.
This bill:
1. Requires the Chancellor's Office to establish a
voluntary pilot program to increase student
participation in state and federal financial aid
programs. Specifically, the bill:
A. Requires the Chancellor to select no more than 10
campuses from those that volunteer to participate.
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B. Requires, to the extent possible, that the
geographic, economic and demographic diversity of
participating campuses be ensured.
C. Establishes the following two target populations
of potentially eligible students to be identified for
participation in the pilot program:
(1) Those who complete an application for a BOG
fee waiver but do not complete a FAFSA.
(2) Those who do not receive any campus, state,
or federal aid.
D. Establishes the goal of the pilot program to
increase student participation in both state and
federal financial aid programs by actions that
include, but are not limited to:
(1) Identifying strategies and best practices
for increasing the number of students who submit
the FAFSA.
(2) Examining and developing strategies for
increasing student participation in financial aid
programs beyond the BOG Fee Waiver program.
2. Encourages the Chancellor's Office to pursue both
private and federal funding to support implementation
and operation of the pilot program.
3. Requires the Chancellor's Office to provide information
on the strategies and techniques employed by
participating campuses and data on student participation
in state and federal financial aid programs to the
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) by January 10, 2014.
4. Requires the LAO, based upon the information received,
to:
A. Report to the Legislature on the results of the
pilot program.
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B. Make recommendations for statewide expansion of
the pilot.
C. Include in its report a statistical analysis of
financial aid applications and awards before and
after the pilot program and a summary of the major
strategies and techniques employed by participating
campuses.
5. Repeals these provisions as of January 1, 2015.
Comments
Need for the bill . Several recent reports have highlighted
the fact that CCC students are not receiving all of the
federal financial aid support that is available to them. A
research brief issued by MPR Associates, Inc. in October
2009 (and based upon 2006-07 enrollment data) noted that
fewer than 230,000 (about 10 percent) of degree seeking
students at the CCC received federal Pell Grants. The most
common form of financial aid was a BOG fee waiver, given to
540,000 students (26 percent of enrolled students).
Approximately 305,000 of these students received only a fee
waiver and of those, 110,000 applied for federal aid but
did not receive it with the most common reasons for not
qualifying being (1) they were part-time, (2) their income
or expected family contribution was too high, or (3) they
did not meet citizenship, academic, or other requirements
for federal financial aid.
This bill attempts to gather specific information on the
reasons and strategies specific to California's students
and community colleges to determine why California
community college students do not submit the FAFSA in
greater numbers and to identify intervention strategies to
increase their participation in state and federal financial
aid programs.
What is the Pell Grant program ? The federal Pell Grant
program provides need-based grants to low-income
undergraduates (and certain post baccalaureate students) to
promote access to postsecondary education. Grant amounts
are dependent on the student's expected family
contribution, the cost of attendance (as determined by the
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institution), the student's enrollment status (full-time or
part-time), and whether the student attends for a full
academic year or less. Financial need is determined using
a standard formula based on information reported by the
applicant on the FAFSA. Students must file a FAFSA in
order to receive a Pell Grant. For 2010-11, the maximum
amount for a Pell Grant will be $5,550, and beginning in
2013-14, will be adjusted based upon the Consumer Price
Index. The actual amount of a Pell Grant will vary from
student to student depending on their specific
circumstances.
Why a pilot program ? Much of the information being
disseminated on potential Pell Grant participation at the
CCC and projections regarding the amount of potential Pell
Grant dollars "left on the table" derive from assumptions
based upon national, rather than California-specific
information and data. A pilot program will allow for
closer examination of the unique student population served
by the CCC in order to identify best practices for ensuring
the colleges' commitment to access while maximizing the
potential for California students to benefit from federal
financial aid programs.
Why these specific target populations ? According to the
MPR research brief, almost 80 percent of BOG fee waiver
recipients (431,000) qualified because they filed a FAFSA
and were found to have financial need according to the
federal formula (i.e. 80 percent of BOG waiver recipients
completed the FAFSA). The remaining 20 percent (111,000)
received a BOG waiver using the simplified form. The
research brief notes that many of these students may have
been ineligible for federal financial aid. It also
identifies over 1.5 million students within the community
colleges who receive no financial aid at all. This bill
creates a pilot program that focuses upon students
potentially eligible for federal financial aid within two
groups: (1) BOG Fee Waiver recipients who do not submit a
FAFSA and (2) other enrolled students who do not apply for
any campus state or federal assistance.
Prior Legislation
AB 1997 (Portantino), 2009-10 Session, was nearly identical
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to this bill. Passed the Senate with a vote of 36-3 on
August 23, 2010. The bill was ultimately vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger whose message read, in pertinent
part: "This bill is unnecessary. Nothing under current
law prohibits the California Community College Chancellor's
Office from working with local community colleges to meet
the objectives of this bill. Furthermore, the annual
budget act was augmented several years ago to provide the
community colleges an additional $34.2 million for
financial aid outreach efforts that were expected to assist
students with maximizing federal and state financial aid."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
Pilot administration $20-$40 $40-$80
$40-$80 General
CalGrants $400 $400
General
LAO Report Likely minor
costsGeneral
SUPPORT : (Per Senate Education Committee analysis of
6/22/11)
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
California Postsecondary Education Commission
Community College League of California
Kern Community College District
Los Angeles Community College District
Los Rios Community College District
San Bernardino Community College District
West Kern Community College District
Yosemite Community College District
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/31/11
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell
CPM:mw 8/29/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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