BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 200
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 17, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 200
Alejo - As Amended March 11, 2015
SUBJECT: Student financial aid: Competitive Cal Grant A and B
awards
SUMMARY: Establishes the number of Competitive Cal Grant A and
B awards to be 22,500 for the 2015-16 academic year, 45,000 for
the 2016-17 academic year, 80,000 for the 2017-18 academic year,
and 100,000 for the 2018-19 academic year and each year
thereafter.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Cal Grant program awards to provide tuition
and access cost assistance to eligible students attending
qualified institutions:
a) Cal Grant A Entitlement Awards. Students that meet
income, asset and other eligibility requirements, have at
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least a 3.0 grade point average, and apply either the year
they graduate from high school or the following year are
entitled to an award that provides coverage for tuition and
fees.
b) Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards. Students that meet
income and asset (lower thresholds than Cal Grant A) and
other eligibility requirements, have at least a 2.0 GPA and
apply either the year they graduate from high school or the
following year are entitled to a living allowance and
tuition and fee assistance. Awards for first-year students
are limited to an allowance for books and living expenses
($1,473). In the second and subsequent years, the award
provides tuition and fee support.
c) California Community College (CCC) Transfer Entitlement
Awards. Cal Grant A and B awards are guaranteed to every
student who graduated from a California high school after
June 30, 2000, was a California resident at the time of
high school graduation, transferred to a qualifying
baccalaureate-degree granting institution from a CCC during
the award year, was under the age of 28 at the time of the
transfer, and had a minimum California Community College
GPA of 2.4.
d) Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards. Students who are
not eligible for entitlement awards may compete for a Cal
Grant A or B Competitive award. The award benefits and
eligibility requirements are the same as the entitlement
program, but awards are not guaranteed. Annually, 22,500
Cal Grant Competitive awards are available. Of these, 50
percent are for students who do not qualify for a Cal Grant
Entitlement award, but who otherwise meet the Cal Grant
requirements. The remaining awards are set aside for
eligible CCC students.
e) Cal Grant C Awards. Students attending qualifying
occupational, technical, and vocational programs are
eligible for up to $547 for books and equipment and $2,462
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for tuition and fees. In 2013-14, applicants competed for
7,761 grants; applicants are ranked by work experience,
educational history, vocational aptitude, and occupational
goal.
2)Maximum award amounts for CSU and UC are established in the
annual Budget Act and have traditionally covered all
systemwide tuition and fees. The maximum tuition award for
Cal Grant A and B for students attending private for-profit
colleges is $4,000 (commencing 2013-14), and for students
attending non-profit or WASC-accredited for-profit
institutions is $8,056 (commencing 2015-16).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: A student's ability to pay for college is a major
factor in enrollment and completion of a degree program;
significant unmet need results in students being less likely to
enroll and, once enrolled, low-income students are also less
likely to complete their degree program. Financial aid plays a
vital role in increasing access, retention, and completion
rates. California has made a substantial commitment to
affordability through the Cal Grant Program; still, there is
room for improvement. Higher education affordability experts
have consistently encouraged an increase in the number of awards
provided in the Competitive Cal Grant Program.
As previously noted, the Cal Grant Entitlement Programs
guarantee awards to students who meet specified GPA and
income-related criteria and apply within deadlines. The
majority of Cal Grant recipients (211,300 in 2013-14) receive
this type of award. The majority of Cal Grant applicants,
however, do not qualify for an Entitlement award because they
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are more than a year out of high school, decide to go to college
after the Entitlement application deadline, or do not meet age
or other requirements when they transfer.
Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards are available to middle and
low income applicants who did not receive an entitlement award.
Established in statute are minimum income/asset and academic
performance requirements; generally aligned with the Entitlement
requirements. However, because over 300,000 applicants compete
for only 22,500 awards annually, Competitive Program award
recipients must significantly exceed minimum requirements.
In 2012-13, CSAC reported that the typical Competitive Program
award recipient was 31 years old, with a GPA of 3.41, a family
size of 3.1, and a household income of $14,262. According to
The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), hundreds
of thousands of Competitive Program applicants meet eligibility
requirements but are denied grants. TICAS notes that denied
Competitive Program applicants have an average family income of
less than $21,000, a family size of three, and GPA of 2.9.
TICAS calculates that in 2001-02, at the inception of the
Competitive Program, eligible applicants had a one in four
chance of receiving a Competitive Program award. By 2014-15,
the chances of a qualified applicant receiving a Competitive
Program award decreased to one in seventeen.
This bill proposes to increase the number of Competitive Program
awards from 22,500 for the 2015-16 academic year, to 100,000 by
the 2018-19 academic year. According to supporters, this
increase will help California's neediest students take more
classes, go to school full-time, and ultimately complete their
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college degree in a timely manner.
Related legislation. SB 15 (Block), pending in the Senate
Education Committee, would, among other changes to higher
education financing and financial aid programs, increase the
number of Competitive Cal Grant awards to 30,000.
Prior legislation. AB 1976 (Quirk-Silva) of 2014, which was
vetoed by Governor Brown, as passed by the Assembly Higher
Education Committee, would have authorized 50,000 Competitive
Cal Grant awards, and authorized CSAC to exceed the cap, as
specified, in order to maximize the take-rate for Competitive
Cal Grant awards. The bill was subsequently amended to remove
the increase in Competitive Cal Grant awards.
SB 1751 (Speier) of 2006, which was held in the Senate Education
Committee, would have increased, from 22,500 to 34,000, the
number of Competitive Cal Grant awards annually.
SB 1264 (Alquist) of 2006, which was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, would have increased, from 22,500 to
23,000, the number of Competitive Cal Grant awards annually.
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AB 1399 (Garcia) of 2006, which was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, would have increased the number of
Competitive Cal Grant awards by 200, to 22,700, to provide
awards to specified members of the California National Guard and
State Military Reserve.
AB 1501 (Escutia) of 2004, which was not heard in policy
committee, would have redirected proceeds associated with a tax
credit and used them to fund Competitive Cal Grant awards.
AB 726 (Correa) of 2001, which was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, would have increased the number of
Competitive Cal Grant awards from 22,500 to 42,500, through July
1, 2005.
SB 1644 (Ortiz), Chapter 409, Statutes of 2000, established the
Cal Grant Entitlement awards and established 22,500 Competitive
Cal Grant awards for those who did not receive the guaranteed
award.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Community College Association of Student Trustees
California Competes
California EDGE Coalition
Californians for Shared Prosperity Coalition
California State Conference of the NAACP
Community College League of California
EARN
MALDEF
NAACP Los Angeles
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National Council of La Raza
Public Advocates Inc.
Southern California College Access Network
Student Senate for California Community Colleges
The Campaign for College Opportunity
The Education Trust-West
The Institute for College Access & Success
University of California Student Association
Young Invincibles
Opposition
None on File
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Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960