BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2160
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2160 (Ting) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
SUBJECT : Cal Grant Program: grade point average.
SUMMARY : Would require a grade point average (GPA) for all
high school seniors and graduates from the prior academic year
at public schools to be submitted to the California Student Aid
Commission (CSAC) electronically by a school or school district
official. Provides for reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts if the Commission on State Mandates determines
a state mandated local cost from the implementation of this
bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires GPAs for Cal Grant A and B applicants to be submitted
to CSAC; requires GPAs to include a certification by a school
official that the GPA is accurately reported; authorizes CSAC
to establish grace periods for the receipt of GPAs and
corrections; and, establishes Legislative intent that high
schools and institutions of higher education certify GPAs of
students in time to meet Cal Grant application deadlines. (EDC
§69432)
2)Authorized school districts to release information from pupil
records to agencies or organizations in connection with the
application of a pupil for, or receipt of, financial aid.
However, information permitting the personal identification of
a pupil or his or her parents may be disclosed only as may be
necessary for purposes as to determine the eligibility of the
pupil for financial aid, to determine the amount of the
financial aid, to determine the conditions that will be
imposed regarding the financial aid, or to enforce the terms
or conditions of the financial aid. (EDC §49076)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Double referral . This bill has been double referred
to the Education Committee.
Background . To apply for a Cal Grant award, students (or
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parents of dependent students) are required, by March 2nd, to:
(1) complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA); and, (2) file a verified GPA with CSAC. Some high
schools and colleges automatically file their students' verified
GPAs with CSAC and others do not. Students are responsible for
determining whether the school has/will file the GPA
automatically, or whether the student will need to obtain a Cal
Grant GPA Verification Form, have it certified by the school
official, and mail it to CSAC by the deadline.
Education Trust-West Report . The Education Trust-West (ETW) is
the sponsor of this bill. ETW issued a report in 2013 entitled
"The Cost of Opportunity" which found that only 54% of
California's 12th graders completed a FAFSA in 2012, and only
50% completed both steps of the requirements to apply for a Cal
Grant by the March 2nd deadline. In 2014, a follow up Equity
Alert entitled "Doorways to College Aid: Boosting Access to
Financial Aid in California" found that 2013 rates increased
statewide by 7% and 8% respectively; a total of 25,000
additional FAFSA completions and more than 30,000 additional Cal
Grant applications. ETW notes that, while these increases
highlight the work by school districts and the state to help
students apply for financial aid, still 170,000 (42%) 12th
graders from the class of 2013 did not complete a Cal Grant
application.
ETW notes that one "high-impact practice employed by districts
is to submit GPAs electronically for all students. Some
districts continue to balk at adopting this practice due to
privacy concerns despite the fact that it has proven effective
in getting more students into the pipeline for college aid. A
number of districts that have shifted to this practice have seen
dramatic gains in the number of Cal Grant awards offered to
their students." ETW research indicates that districts that
piloted using electronic GPA verification and other data-driven
practices found a 15% increase in Cal Grant completion: 71%
compared to 56% for other school districts.
Purpose of this bill . This bill would require public high
schools to electronically transfer high school GPAs for all high
school seniors and prior year graduates to CSAC. According to
the author, while some districts already provide GPAs to CSAC
for all or some students, many do not. The author notes that
Los Angeles and San Francisco unified school districts are
already providing GPAs for all high school seniors to CSAC and,
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according to the author, report that costs for computer
programming are minor and absorbable and districts experienced
an overall cost savings associated with high school counselors
no longer being required to complete paper forms for students.
The author also notes that CSAC reported processing over 70,000
paper GPA forms in 2013, taking significant staff time. The
author believes that overall cost savings associated with this
bill could result in more time for high school counsellors and
CSAC to outreach to students encouraging FAFSA completion.
Without legislation, the author argues "it would take several
years for all school districts to implement the best practice in
this bill."
CSAC WebGrants . WebGrants is CSAC's internet-based access for
Cal Grant GPA submission for high schools. It provides high
schools with the ability to upload student GPAs and determine if
a student has completed a FAFSA, schools can also search and
edit records, download CSAC policy memos and bulletins, print
School of Origin Reports, and use other high school GPA
collection tools. According to the California Community College
Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), currently all community colleges
are using WebGrants to upload GPAs for students enrolled in the
last two years. According to CSAC, 71 districts upload GPAs
using WebGrants for all 12th graders and some also provide GPAs
for the prior year graduates. When CSAC finds students for whom
they have received GPA, but not FAFSAs, CSAC provides a report
of those GPAs to the schools; ideally a school uses that
information to contact students to ensure FAFSA completion.
Privacy rights . The federal Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) applies to all schools that receive federal
funding through the U.S. Department of Education and protects
the privacy of student educational records. Generally, schools
must have written permission from the parent or eligible student
in order to release any information from a student's educational
record. However, schools are authorized to disclose records
without consent to specific parties or under specific
conditions, including to appropriate parties in connection with
financial aid to a student. This exemption is currently used to
authorize the provision of student GPAs to CSAC when a student
is applying for financial aid. There may be a question as to
whether this exemption also covers the provision of all GPAs for
all students to CSAC, regardless of whether the student is
applying for financial aid. Committee staff understands that
the CCCCO and CSAC have developed an MOU outlining appropriate
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uses of this student data, to ensure compliance with FERPA.
The committee may wish to consider, to address student privacy
concerns, an amendment to require CSAC to allow a student to
"opt out" of the automatic GPA transmission.
Linking other resources for students . This bill proposes to
address one factor relevant to a student's application for
financial aid. However, the overarching goal of the author
appears to be to increase student college-going rates. There
are existing tools that provide students resources on college
preparedness and enrollment. For example, the California
Colleges website (Californiacolleges.edu) provides complete
information about higher education in California for students,
counselors, and parents. Developed in collaboration with
California's public and independent colleges and universities
and the California Department of Education, it allows students
to explore colleges and careers, plan for admission requirements
and investigate financial aid options, and portals students to
college and financial aid applications. A pilot program within
California Colleges allows students and school counselors, at
participating pilot high schools, to create portfolios that
contain student specific data to help inform choices. To
address larger goals, the author may wish to evaluate the
possibility of linking financial aid application pathways (as
established in this bill) with existing tools for students to
determine their own college readiness and to evaluate potential
college options.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State University, Chancellor's Office
The Education-Trust West
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
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