BILL NUMBER: AB 1976	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Quirk-Silva

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2014

   An act to amend Sections 69437 and 69437.6 of the Education Code,
relating to student financial aid.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1976, as introduced, Quirk-Silva. Student financial aid:
Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards.
   Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant
Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the
California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement awards,
the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and
the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid
Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under
these programs for participating students attending qualifying
institutions. Existing law limits the number of Competitive Cal Grant
A and B awards that may be granted in an academic year to 22,500.
   This bill would increase to 50,000 the number of Competitive Cal
Grant A and B awards that may be granted in an academic year,
commencing with the 2015-16 academic year. The bill would authorize
the commission to use data from the 3 award years immediately
preceding an award year in order to estimate the maximum number of
award offers that the commission may make without the number of
acceptances exceeding 50,000. The bill would also authorize the
commission to exceed the 50,000 award limit in an academic year when
the number of acceptances exceeds 50,000, but would further require,
immediately subsequent to an academic year when the number of awards
exceeds 50,000, that the commission reduce the number of awards made
by the number by which the awards made in the previous academic year
exceeded 50,000.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 69437 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   69437.  (a) Commencing with the 2001-02 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, there shall be established the Competitive
Cal Grant A and B award program for students who did not receive a
Cal Grant A or B entitlement award pursuant to Article 2 (commencing
with Section 69434), Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435), or
Article 4 (commencing with Section 69436). Awards made under this
section are not entitlements. The submission of an application by a
student under this section shall not entitle that student to an
award. The selection of students under this article shall be
determined pursuant to subdivision (c) and other relevant criteria
established by the commission.
   (b)  A   (1)     Commencing
with the 2015-16 academic year, a  total of  22,500
  50,000  Cal Grant A and B awards shall be granted
annually under this article on a competitive basis for applicants
who meet the general eligibility criteria established in Article 1
(commencing with Section 69430) and the priorities established by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (c). 
   (1) 
    (   2)  Fifty percent of the awards referenced
in this subdivision are available to all students, including
California community college students, who meet the financial need
and academic requirements established pursuant to this article. A
student enrolling at a qualifying baccalaureate degree granting
institution shall apply by the March 2 deadline. A California
community college student is eligible to apply at the March 2 or the
September 2 deadline. 
   (2) 
    (   3)  Fifty percent of the awards referenced
in this subdivision are reserved for students who will be enrolled at
a California community college. The commission shall establish a
second application deadline of September 2 for community college
students to apply for these awards effective with the fall term or
semester of the 2001-02 academic year. 
   (3) 
    (   4)  If any awards are not distributed
pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) upon initial allocation of the
awards under this article, the commission shall make awards to as
many eligible students as possible, beginning with the students with
the lowest expected family contribution and highest academic merit,
consistent with the criteria adopted by the commission pursuant to
subdivision (c), as practicable without exceeding an annual
cumulative total of  22,500  50,000 
awards. 
   (5) In granting awards for an award year under this article, the
commission is authorized to use data from the three award years
immediately preceding that year in order to estimate the maximum
number of award offers that the commission may make without the
number of acceptances exceeding 50,000. Notwithstanding paragraphs
(1) to (4), inclusive, the commission may exceed the 50,000 award
limit in an academic year when the number of acceptances exceeds
50,000. In any academic year immediately subsequent to an academic
year when the number of awards exceeds 50,000, the commission shall
reduce the number of awards made by the number by which the awards
made in the previous academic year exceeded 50,000. 
   (c) (1) On or before February 1, 2001, acting pursuant to a public
hearing process that is consistent with the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the
commission shall establish selection criteria for Cal Grant A and B
awards under the competitive program that give special consideration
to disadvantaged students, taking into consideration those financial,
educational, cultural, language, home, community, environmental, and
other conditions that hamper a student's access to, and ability to
persist in, postsecondary education programs.
   (2) Additional consideration shall be given to each of the
following:
   (A) Students who graduated from high school or its equivalent
prior to the 2000-01 academic year. This subparagraph shall not be
applicable after the 2004-05 academic year.
   (B) Students pursuing Cal Grant B awards who reestablish their
grade point averages.
   (C) Students who did not receive awards pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 69434), Article 3 (commencing with Section
69435), or Article 4 (commencing with Section 69436).
   (d) All other students who meet the eligibility requirements
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 69430) are eligible to
compete for an award pursuant to this article.
  SEC. 2.  Section 69437.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   69437.6.  (a) An applicant competing for an award under this
article shall meet all the requirements of Article 1 (commencing with
Section 69430).
   (b) To compete for a competitive Cal Grant A award, an applicant
shall, at a minimum, meet all of the requirements of Article 2
(commencing with Section 69434), with the exception of paragraphs (1)
and (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 69434. However, in lieu of
meeting the grade point average requirement set forth in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69434, an applicant may submit a
community college or college grade point average of at least 2.4 on a
4.0 scale.
   (c) To compete for a competitive Cal Grant B award, an applicant
shall, at a minimum, meet all of the requirements of Article 3
(commencing with Section 69435), with the exception of paragraphs (1)
and (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 69435.3. However, in lieu of
meeting the grade point average requirements of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) of Section 69435.3, a student may do either of the
following:
   (1) Demonstrate attainment of a community college or college grade
point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
   (2) Reestablish his or her grade point average by completing at
least 16 cumulative units of credit for academic coursework at an
accredited California community college, as defined by the
commission, by regulation, with at least a 2.0 community college
grade point average.
   (d) To compete for a competitive California Community College
Transfer Cal Grant Award, an applicant shall, at a minimum, meet the
requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 69436), with the
exception of paragraphs (8) and (9) of subdivision (b) of Section
69436.
   (e) All other competitors shall, at a minimum, comply with all of
the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9.
   (f) An individual selected for a Cal Grant A award who enrolls in
a California community college may elect to have the award held in
reserve for him or her for a period not to exceed two academic years,
except that the commission may extend the period in which his or her
award may be held in reserve for up to three academic years if, in
the commission's judgment, the rate of academic progress has been as
rapid as could be expected for the personal and financial conditions
that the student has encountered. The commission shall, in this case,
hold the award in reserve for the additional year. Upon receipt of a
request to transfer the award to a tuition or fee charging
qualifying institution, the individual shall be eligible to receive
the Cal Grant A award previously held in reserve if, at the time of
the request, he or she meets all of the requirements of this article.
Upon receipt of the request, the commission shall reassess the
financial need of the award recipient. The commission may prescribe
the forms and procedures to be utilized for the purposes of this
section. A recipient's years of eligibility for payment of benefits
shall be based upon his or her grade level at the time the award is
transferred to the tuition or fee charging qualifying institution.
Any award so held in reserve shall only be counted once toward the
 22,500   50,000  awards authorized by this
article.