BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 1091 (Eduardo Garcia) - Student financial aid:  Cal Grant  
          Program
          
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          |Version: June 1, 2015           |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
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          |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015   |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill authorizes the California Student Aid  
          Commission (CSAC) to require verification of high school  
          graduation to be electronically submitted for high school  
          graduates for the purpose of determining financial aid  
          eligibility, and requires the electronic submission of grade  
          point average information on a standardized form.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           The CSAC indicates one position and $120,000 will be needed to  
            design, implement, and provide support to schools and school  
            districts for the new tool within its existing Grant Delivery  
            System.  (General Fund)

           Unknown, potentially significant reimbursable state mandate  
            costs if the Commission on State Mandates determines this bill  
            to impose a mandate should the CSAC require verification of  







          AB 1091 (Eduardo Garcia)                               Page 1 of  
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            high school graduation to be electronically submitted for all  
            former grade 12 students who graduated.  The potential for it  
            to be determined a mandate is unclear.  If so determined, it  
            could create pressure to increase funding for the K-12 Mandate  
            Block Grant, to reflect the inclusion of the new mandate.  See  
            staff comments.  (Proposition 98)


     Background:1)  Existing law authorizes the Cal Grant program, administered by  
          the CSAC, to provide grants to financially needy students to  
          attend a college or university. The Cal Grant programs include  
          both the entitlement and the competitive Cal Grant awards.  The  
          program consists of the Cal Grant A, Cal Grant B, and Cal Grant  
          C programs, and eligibility is based upon financial need, grade  
          point average (GPA), California residency, and other criteria.   
          (Education Code § 69430-69433)

          Existing law, requires GPAs for Cal Grant A and B applicants to  
          be electronically submitted to CSAC except for students that  
          have opted out; 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.  (EC §  
          69432.9)   


          Proposed Law:  
            This bill authorizes the CSAC to require verification of high  
          school graduation to be electronically submitted for high school  
          graduates, including from charter schools, except for students  
          that opted out.  This bill requires that when submitting GPAs  
          electronically to the CSAC for Cal Grant A or B awards, that  
          they use a standardized form.  

          This bill also provides Legislative intent that the CSAC make  
          available to each high school and school district a report  
          identifying all grade 12 students who have not completed the  
          Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream  
          Act Application.


          Staff  








          AB 1091 (Eduardo Garcia)                               Page 2 of  
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          Comments:  It is unclear whether this bill will result in a new  
          reimbursable state mandate.  The determination will depend on  
          the interpretation of the Commission on State Mandates.  Schools  
          might claim reimbursement for any start-up activities to meet  
          the new requirement such as training on the tool that the CSAC  
          develops to upload the information.  Some schools may have to  
          make changes to their electronic data systems to enable  
          uploading required information.  To the extent each high school  
          trains one staff member for two hours, reimbursable costs to the  
          state could run in the hundreds of thousands.  Increased  
          operational efficiency in the application process for Cal grants  
          could result in savings for both school districts and the CSAC  
          and potentially reduce barriers in students applying for grants,  
          which could in turn increase state Cal Grant costs.
          Staff notes that the Budget Act of 2015 provided the CSAC  
          $840,000 and three positions to support the modernization of the  
          Grant Delivery System.




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