BILL NUMBER: AB 1976 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 3, 2014
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 amended, 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 require the commission to use
data from calculate a target for awards to be paid in
an award year as specified, estimate a take-rate for
awards by dividing the total number of awards paid by the total
number of offers made during the 3 award years immediately
preceding an that 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 , and estimate the number of award
offers that the commission may make to achieve the target for awards
to be paid, as specified . 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. under specified
conditions.
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) (1) Commencing with the 2015-16 academic year, a total of
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).
(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.
(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.
(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 50,000
awards.
(5) (A) In granting awards for an
award year under this article for the 2015-16 award
year , 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. shall do all of the following:
(i) Establish a target of 50,000 awards to be paid.
(ii) Estimate the take-rate for awards by dividing the total
number of awards paid by the total number of offers made during the
three award years immediately preceding the 2015-16 award year.
(iii) Estimate the number of award offers that the commission may
make to achieve the target for awards paid by dividing 50,000 by the
take-rate estimated pursuant to clause (ii).
(B) In granting awards under this article for the 2016-17 award
year and subsequent award years, the commission shall do all of the
following:
(i) Calculate a target for awards to be paid by subtracting the
number of awards paid in the previous award year from the target for
awards paid in the previous award year and adding the result to
50,000.
(ii) Estimate the take-rate for awards by dividing the total
number of awards paid by the total number of offers made during the
three award years immediately preceding that award year.
(iii) Estimate the number of award offers that the commission may
make to achieve the target for awards paid calculated pursuant to
clause (i) by dividing the target by the take-rate estimated pursuant
to clause (ii).
(6) 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, provided that, in the
2016-17 award year and subsequent award years, the commission grants
awards in accordance with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5).
(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
50,000 awards authorized by this article.