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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