BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2160 Page 1 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 Page 2 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 AB 2160 Page 3 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 AB 2160 Page 4 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