BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 606 (Williams) - Community Colleges: Student Financial Aid
Pilot Program
Amended: April 11, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 30, 2013
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: AB 606 requires the California Community College
Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) 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 (LAO) to report to
the Legislature on the results of the pilot program and to make
recommendations for its statewide expansion. The pilot program
would sunset on January 1, 2017.
Fiscal Impact:
CCCCO administration: $60,000-$80,000 (General Fund) for a
.5 PY to administer the pilot program on 10 campuses.
CalGrants: Approximately $270,000 (General Fund) in
increased CalGrant awards in 2015-16; $828,000 (General
Fund) in increased CalGrant awards in 2016-17.
LAO report: Minor and absorbable costs to produce the
required report.
Background: Existing law provides for a variety of student
financial aid programs for community college students, including
the Cal Grant programs and the Community College Board of
Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver program.
Existing law requires the determination of a student's financial
need, 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, be accomplished using
the federal financial need methodology and application (the
Federal Application for Student Assistance, or FAFSA). This
requirement applies to eligibility for a Cal Grant.
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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. (Education Code �
69432.9, � 69433)
Existing law requires the CCCCO to develop a statement that
individual students will be asked to sign, acknowledging 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 direct students to sign this acknowledgment in the
application for enrollment at all campuses of the California
Community Colleges.
Current law further requires the CCCCO to develop a statement to
individual students receiving the BOG Fee Waiver, but 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 and to request colleges
to provide this statement to all students who meet this
description. (EC � 76071)
Proposed Law: AB 606 establishes a 3-year pilot program to
increase participation among community college students in state
and federal financial aid programs. This bill requires the CCCCO
to administer the pilot program and select up to 10 community
college campuses (CCCs) to voluntarily participate in the
program. This bill also requires the CCCCO to provide specified
information about the pilot program to the LAO by January 10,
2016, and requires the LAO to report to the Legislature on the
results of the program and recommendations regarding statewide
expansion. This bill will sunset on January 1, 2017.
Related Legislation: AB 91 (Portantino) 2011 was substantially
similar to this bill, and was vetoed by Governor Brown, with the
following veto message:
This bill orders the Chancellor of the Community Colleges to
set up a pilot program at local campuses to figure out how
to motivate their students to apply for financial aid.
This is a matter that each community college can handle on
its own.
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AB 1997 (Portantino) 2010 was also similar to this bill, and was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, with the following veto
message:
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.
Staff Comments: This program would endeavor to identify (and
increase financial aid participation for) two target
populations: 1) Students potentially eligible for state and
federal financial aid who complete a BOG fee waiver application
but do not complete a FAFSA; and 2) students who may be eligible
for financial aid who receive no financial aid at all, because
they do not apply for any. The program would focus on
identifying strategies for increasing FAFSA applications, and
for developing strategies for increasing student participation
in state and federal aid programs beyond BOG fee waivers. CCC
students who qualify for BOG waivers are likely to be eligible
for federal and state financial aid, as well.
The CCCCO would be required to submit specified information to
the LAO by January 10, 2016 for use in an LAO report to the
Legislature that would describe the results of the pilot and
make recommendations for statewide expansion of the program. The
CCCCO has indicated that administering the pilot would likely
require a .5 PY, resulting in costs of approximately $60,000 to
$80,000, and that it would seek federal funding for this
position. In the absence of federal funding, this position would
be funded by the General Fund.
Greater participation in applying for aid programs will likely
result in substantial additional federal aid (primarily Pell
Grants) for students in participating CCCs, but will also lead
to increased state costs through increased access to CalGrant B
awards. If the pilot program involves 10 participating campuses
that are demographically representative of the CCC system, the
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California Student Aid Commission estimates that this bill would
result in additional CalGrant awards totaling approximately
$270,000 in 2015-16 and $828,000 (General Fund) in 2016-17.