BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1583
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 1583
(Santiago) - As Amended March 15, 2016
SUBJECT: Community colleges: enrollment fee waiver and
additional assistance
SUMMARY: Expands the California Community College (CCC) Board
of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver Program (BOGFW) to include
specified categories of students, and establishes a need-based
aid program to cover access costs for CCC students.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Declares Legislative intent to establish the California
Promise to ensure more Californians have the opportunity to
access and afford community college in California.
2)Establishes the following findings and declarations:
a) California's 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education
affirmed the state's commitment to a system of higher
education combining exceptional quality with broad access.
b) The CCC system is the largest system of higher education
in the U.S., offering associate degrees and certificates in
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more than 175 fields to 2.1 million students on 113
campuses.
c) For every dollar California invests to get students into
and through college, the state receives a $4.50 net return
on investment.
d) In 2025, California faces an estimated shortage of one
million college degree and certificate holders needed to
sustain the state's workforce.
e) To meet the demand for college degree and certificate
holders, California has and must continue to invest
significantly in need-based financial aid for CCC students,
including the Board of Governors Enrollment Fee Waiver
Program (BOG Fee Waiver Program) and the Cal Grant Program.
f) The BOGFW offsets tuition and fees for more than 60% of
full-time CCC students and nearly half of all CCC students,
with the only requirements being that students demonstrate
financial need and meet reasonable academic progress
standards.
g) Despite the many strengths of the BOGFW, eligibility is
currently limited to students with a minimum need of
$1,104.
h) CCC access and affordability are not exclusively tied to
tuition and fees; for instance, nontuition costs such as
textbooks, transportation, food, housing, and other
college-related expenses can represent more than 90% of the
total cost of attending CCC, thereby preventing students
from successfully enrolling in and completing CCC.
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i) Although California has devoted considerable resources
to need-based aid at the CCC, not every student with need
is able to access or receive aid to offset tuition or
non-tuition expenses.
j) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure all
Californians with financial need are able to access and
afford CCC.
3)Amends the BOGFW eligibility criteria to include:
a) Students who demonstrate eligibility according to income
standards established by regulations of the BOG, with
income standards set no lower than three times the current
federal poverty level; and,
b) Students who demonstrate financial need of at least one
dollar, in accordance with the methodology set forth in
federal law or regulation for determining the expected
family contribution of students seeking financial aid.
4)Requires, by January 1, 2018, BOG to ensure a fee waiver
application is available to be completed and submitted
electronically by students at each CCC.
5)Requires BOG to establish a need-based aid program to provide
fee waiver recipients with financial resources, not to exceed
one thousand dollars ($1,000) per student per year, to offset
a portion of the costs of textbooks, supplies, transportation,
and other living expenses.
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6)Provides for reimbursement to local agencies and school
districts if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this bill contains mandated state costs.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires a BOGFW for any students who meet all of the
following requirements:
a) Meets minimum academic and progress standards, as
adopted by BOG;
b) Meets one of the following criteria:
i) At the time of enrollment, is a recipient of
benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families program, the Supplemental Security Income/State
Supplementary Payment Program, or a general assistance
program; or,
ii) Demonstrates eligibility according to income
standards established by regulations of the BOG; or,
iii) Demonstrates financial need in accordance with the
methodology set forth in federal law or regulation for
determining the expected family contribution of students
seeking financial aid. (Education Code Section 76300).
2)The 2015-16 Budget Act provided $39,000,000 to be distributed
to students receiving the Cal Grant B Access Award and taking
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12 units or more. The CCC Chancellor's Office was required to
determine the number of students eligible for funding and
distribute an equal amount of funding to each student. In
September of 2015, the Chancellor's Office announced the
Full-Time Student Success Grant to provide an additional $600
supplement to qualified students. The Governor's 2016-17
January Budget proposes to continue this program.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. According to the author, "in
2025, California faces an estimated shortage of 2.4 million
college degree and certificate holders. To meet the demand,
California has and must continue to invest significantly in
need-based financial aid for CCC students. Despite the many
strengths of the BOGFW, eligibility is currently limited to
students who demonstrate financial need via various methods, and
these methods can unfortunately exclude various students with
low to lower-middle income and/or financial need. Furthermore,
CCC access and affordability are not exclusively tied to tuition
and fees; for instance, non-tuition costs can represent more
than 90 percent of the total cost of attending community
college. These costs can prevent students from successfully
enrolling in and completing community college. This bill
strengthens and expands the BOGFW to ensure more Californians
have the opportunity to access and afford community college."
BOGFW income limitations. In 1984, California enacted the first
CCC enrollment fee at $5 per unit, with a maximum of $50 per
semester and $100 per year. Simultaneously, the BOG was
required to establish a financial aid program to negate the
effect of the introduction of enrollment fees on access for low
income students (BOGFW). The program was designed to make sure
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that students with financial need did not face a barrier to
enrollment. As previously outlined, there are three
income-based pathways to qualify for the BOGFW. This bill
increases eligibility pools under two of these existing
pathways:
1)Demonstrating income eligibility. BOG regulations (5 CCR
§58620) establish income standards that require students (or
families) to have total income in the prior year of equal or
less than 150% of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Poverty Guidelines. In 2016, for a family of four,
this amount is $36,450. This bill would require the BOG to
establish an income standard of no less than three times the
federal poverty level. In 2016, this amount, for a family of
four, would be $72,900.
2)Demonstrating need eligibility. Until 2012, the BOGFW was
awarded to any student demonstrating at least $1 of financial
need. In 2012, in response to a growing population of
students applying for and receiving BOGFW, a policy change was
made to require students to demonstrate full need for the aid
awarded; $1104 based on current CCC fees. Approximately
21,000 students lost BOGFW in 2012-13 due to this change.
This bill would return need eligibility to the $1 threshold.
Approximately 60% of full-time CCC students receive a BOGFW.
The rationale for increasing the income limitation (#1 above) to
three times the federal poverty level is unclear. The author
and committee may wish to consider whether this change could
inadvertently encourage students to complete a BOGFW and forgo
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the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Cal
Grant application (which may provide students additional
financial aid). Other changes in the bill (#2 above) would
provide students with any need above $1 eligibility for a BOGFW.
In the absence of clear justification for doubling the income
threshold for the BOGFW, committee staff recommends removing
this provision.
BOGFW non-tuition award. In addition to the aforementioned
changes, this bill would require the BOG to establish a
need-based aid program to provide BOGFW recipients with
financial resources, not to exceed $1,000 per student per year,
to offset a portion of the costs of textbooks, supplies,
transportation, and other living expenses. Currently, the bill
does not provide guidance to the BOG in establishing this grant.
Details may largely be dependent on the amount of funding
available for the program; the bill is currently silent on
whether funding would come from the Proposition 98 funding
guarantee provided to CCC.
Committee staff recommends including a requirement that, to be
eligible for the non-tuition award, students file a FAFSA.
Moving forward, the author may wish to establish additional
criteria such as full-time enrollment or minimum academic
performance criteria. Additionally, the author may wish to
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clarify how this grant is intended to work with the Full-Time
Success Grants funded in the 2015-16 Budget Act.
Related legislation. This bill is a part of a package of bills
introduced by Assembly Members to establish a CCC Promise
Program to ensure affordability and success for CCC students.
Other bills in the package include: AB 1721 (Medina), pending in
this Committee, which would expand the Cal Grant Program to
increase aid to CCC students; and, AB 1741 (Rodriguez), pending
in this Committee, to provide funds to CCC districts to
implement California Promise Partnerships between school
districts, California's public universities, and community
stakeholders.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Primary Care Association
Opposition
None on File
AB 1583
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Analysis Prepared by:Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960