BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2160
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          Date of Hearing:   April 30, 2014

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Joan Buchanan, Chair
                     AB 2160 (Ting) - As Amended:  April 10, 2014
           
           [Note:  This bill was double referred to the Higher Education  
          Committee and was heard by that committee as it relates to  
          issues under its jurisdiction.]
           
          SUBJECT  :   Cal Grant Program:  grade point average

           SUMMARY  :   Requires 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  :   State mandated local program









                                                                  AB 2160
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           COMMENTS  :   

           Background  .  To apply for a Cal Grant award, students (or  
          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 percentage point 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  








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          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,  
          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.  Specifically, FERPA permits the disclosure of  
          student records without written permission "in connection with a  
          student's application for, or receipt of, financial aid."   This  
          bill  requires districts to disclose the GPAs of students who are  
          not applying-and may never apply-for financial aid, which is  








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          likely a violation of FERPA.  The penalty for violating FERPA is  
          loss of federal funding, primarily Title I funds, which are used  
          to support services for the same students that this bill is  
          attempting to help.  To ensure compliance with federal law,  
          staff recommends that the bill be amended to require the written  
          permission of parents or guardians prior to submitting the GPAs  
          of students who are not seeking financial aid.

          In addition, charter schools are enrolling increasing numbers of  
          students and many charter schools actively recruit students who,  
          upon high school graduation, would qualify for a Cal Grant.   
          Therefore, staff recommends that this bill be amended to also  
          apply to charter high schools.
          
           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Education Trust-West (sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          None received
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087