BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1091
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1091 (Eduardo Garcia)
As Amended June 1, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |12-1 |Medina, Baker, |Chávez |
|Education | |Bloom, Harper, | |
| | |Irwin, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Levine, Linder, | |
| | |Low, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |12-1 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow |
| | |Calderon, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
AB 1091
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to
take specified actions to improve information sharing between
school districts and CSAC for purposes of determining student Cal
Grant eligibility. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes CSAC to require that verification of high school
graduation or its equivalent be electronically submitted for
those who graduated from public schools in the prior academic
year, except for those who opted out of having their information
sent to the commission during their senior year, and declares
legislative intent that this be accomplished by districts within
established deadlines.
2)Declares legislative intent that the commission make available
to each school district listing seniors who have and have not
completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or
Dream Act application.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires grade point averages (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)Requires a GPA for all high school seniors at public schools to
be submitted to CSAC electronically by a school or school
district official and requires a school district to provide an
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opportunity for a student and/or guardian to opt out and
requires students and/or guardians to be notified of the
opportunity to opt out. (EDC Section 96432.9)
3)Authorizes 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 Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)For graduation verification, CSAC will need $120,000 GF for an
additional position to program and implement the additional data
system function. (CSAC has an aging Grants Delivery System, and
the Governor's 2015-16 budget proposal includes $840,000 and
three positions for a system upgrade.) CSAC indicates that the
FAFSA and Dream Act application information can be provided to
districts within existing resources.
2)To the extent CSAC requires districts to submit verification
data, this will create a state-reimbursable mandate. At least
some districts could incur additional programming costs to be
able to provide the information electronically in a format
specified by the commission. These one-time costs could exceed
$150,000 statewide. [GF-Prop 98]
COMMENTS: Background. To apply for a Cal Grant award, students
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(or parents of dependent students) are required, by March 2nd, to:
1) complete and submit the FAFSA; and, 2) file a verified GPA with
CSAC. In 2013, the Education Trust-West (ETW) issued a report
finding 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.
ETW found that one high-impact practice to encourage financial aid
applications employed by districts is to submit GPAs
electronically for all 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. In 2014, AB 2160 (Ting), Chapter 679, required all
high schools to submit a GPA for all high school seniors to CSAC
electronically (electronic submission occurs through the CSAC
WebGrants system).
WebGrants. WebGrants is CSAC's internet-based access for Cal
Grant applications. 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. In addition to the
recently enacted requirement for high school pupil GPA data to be
uploaded electronically, according to the California Community
College Chancellor's Office, currently all community colleges are
using WebGrants to upload GPAs for students enrolled in the last
two years. According to CSAC, when a student for whom CSAC has
received a GPA but not a FAFSA is identified, CSAC provides a
report to the schools. Ideally a school is using that information
to contact students to ensure FAFSA completion.
Purpose of this bill. The author intends for this proposal to
build upon the foundation of AB 2160 by ensuring the following:
1)Authorizing CSAC to require electronic submission of graduation
verification data (an eligibility condition of Cal Grant) for
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students. According to CSAC, because of high school campus
closures following the end of the school year, it is important
that this information is submitted to CSAC promptly to ensure
that student awards are not delayed. It is important to note
that CSAC does authorize students to self-certify high school
graduation. This bill is not intended to change the student
self-certification process.
2)Establishing Legislative intent that CSAC provide to high
schools and school districts a list of all high school pupils
who have not completed a FAFSA or Dream Act application. The
goal of this provision is to support high schools and districts
in encouraging FAFSA/Dream Act completion.
Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0000745