BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2160
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2160 (Ting)
          As Amended  August 18, 2014
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |78-0 |(May 28, 2014)  |SENATE: |31-2 |(August 19,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2014)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    HIGHER ED.  

           SUMMARY  :  Requires a grade point average (GPA) for all high  
          school seniors at public schools to be submitted to the  
          California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) electronically by a  
          school or school district official.  

           The Senate amendments  :

          1)Establish that each pupil enrolled in grade 12 in a California  
            public school, including a charter school, other than pupils  
            who opt out, shall be deemed to be a Cal Grant applicant. 

          2)Require CSAC to require:

             a)   A GPA be submitted to it for all Cal Grant A and B  
               applicants, except for those permitted to provide test  
               scores in lieu of a GPA;

             b)   A GPA be submitted to it electronically for all grade 12  
               pupils at public schools, including charter schools, each  
               academic year, except for pupils who have opted out. Social  
               security numbers must not be included in the information  
               submitted to CSAC unless CSAC determines it necessary to  
               complete the application for financial aid, in which case  
               the school may obtain permission from the pupil and/or  
               guardian.

             c)   Each reported GPA include a certification, executed  
               under penalty of perjury, by a school official, that the  
               GPA reported is accurately reported. 

          3)Provide Legislative intent that high schools and institutions  
            of higher education certify the GPA of their students in time  
            to meet the application deadlines imposed by law.








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          4)Requires a school district or charter school to provide an  
            opportunity for a student and/or guardian to opt out of all of  
            the aforementioned and requires students and/or guardians to  
            be notified of the opportunity to opt out.

          5)Provides that until a student turns 18 years of age, only a  
            parent or guardian may opt the pupil out.  Once a student  
            turns 18 years of age, only the student may opt himself or  
            herself out. 
            
           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.  
            (Education Code (EDC) Section 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 Section 49076)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee:

          1)Mandate:  Potentially significant reimbursable mandate on  
            school districts to electronically submit the GPAs of every  
            12th grade student, with specified exceptions, and to  
            administer an opt-out system for families.

          2)CSAC administration:  Potentially significant workload to  
            receive and process additional GPAs, and to provide technical  
            assistance to schools and school districts.  This workload  
            would be off-set, to some degree, by a reduction in the number  








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            of hard copy GPAs that CSAC processes.  

          3)Cal Grant awards:  Potentially significant Cal Grant costs  
            (General Fund), to the extent that this bill results in more  
            Cal Grant awards.

           COMMENTS  :  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.

          This bill would require public high schools to electronically  
          transfer high school GPAs for all high school seniors 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, 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  








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          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."   


          Analysis Prepared by  :    Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)  
          319-3960 


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