BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1721
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1721 (Medina)
As Amended May 31, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |12-1 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, |Olsen |
|Education | |Chávez, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | |
| | |Linder, Low, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |15-1 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1721
Page 2
SUMMARY: Expands the number of Cal Grant awards with the intent
to provide additional financial aid resources to California
Community College (CCC) students. Specifically, this bill:
1)Increases the number of Competitive Cal Grant awards from
25,750 to 34,000.
2)Provides that 19,000 Competitive Cal Grant awards shall be
reserved for CCC students.
3)Authorizes CCC students enrolled in occupational or career and
technical training (CTE) courses leading to industry valued
credentials of no less than four months in length at a CCC to
be eligible for Competitive Cal Grant B awards.
4)Provides that the number of Cal Grant C awards shall be the
same as the number that were paid in the 2015-16 fiscal year.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Cal Grant program, administered by the
California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), 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
least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA), 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
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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.
In the second and subsequent years, the award provides
tuition and fee support.
c) 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
CCC 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, 25,750
Cal Grant Competitive awards are available. Of these, 50%
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
for tuition and fees.
2)Maximum award amounts for California State University (CSU)
and University of California (UC) are established in the
annual Budget Act and have traditionally covered all
systemwide tuition and fees. The maximum tuition award for
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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 Western Association of Schools and
Colleges (WASC)-accredited for-profit institutions is $8,056
(commencing 2015-16). CCC students do not receive a Cal Grant
tuition award as the Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver
program fully covers enrollment fees (but not other costs of
attendance) for financially needy students.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, estimated General Fund costs for increasing the Cal
Grant Competitive Awards are $14 million in 2016-17, increasing
to about $50 million in 2019-20 and thereafter.
COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. According to the author, "to
remain economically competitive, California will need to produce
2.4 million more degrees by 2025 than the state is currently on
track to produce. Overall, only 32% of students at California
colleges and universities complete credentials on time, and
low-income students are much less likely than higher income
students to enroll in or complete college. A major factor in a
student's enrollment and success in college is his or her
ability to pay for fees and tuition, textbooks, transportation,
housing, food, and other access costs. California has made an
important investment in need-based financial aid through the Cal
Grant Program and the BOG Fee Waiver program, but despite this
commitment, access grants for qualifying students are
insufficient to cover non-tuition college costs, and many
low-income students are left out of the program entirely. The
author notes that, after taking into account the total cost of
attendance and all available financial aid, on average it is
more expensive for a needy student to go to a CCC than to attend
the UC or CSU. This bill aims to renew California's commitment
to CCC affordability by making important changes to the Cal
Grant program to better assist CCC students."
Increasing the number of Competitive Cal Grant Awards. As
previously noted, the Cal Grant Entitlement Programs guarantee
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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 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. Over 300,000 applicants compete
for only 25,750 awards annually; Competitive Program award
recipients must significantly exceed minimum requirements.
According to The Institute for College Access and Success
(TICAS), denied Competitive Program applicants have an average
family income of less than $21,000, a family size of three, and
GPA of 2.9. This bill proposes to increase the number of
Competitive Cal Grants from 25,750 to 34,000. According to
supporters, this increase will help California's neediest
students take more classes, go to school full-time, and complete
their college degree.
Authorizing CCC CTE students to receive a Cal Grant B. Under
existing law, CCC CTE students at a CCC enrolled in programs of
between 4 months and 1 year in length are eligible for a Cal
Grant C award. The Cal Grant C award requires students to apply
by March 1, and provides CCC students only $547 to cover
non-tuition related costs. Currently, the Cal Grant C program
is underutilized, it is estimated that 3,000 grants will go
unclaimed in 2016-17. The Cal Grant B Access Award provides CCC
students enrolled in programs of more than one year in length an
access grant of $1,656; the Competitive award cycle for CCC
students provides students until September to file an
application. By moving (currently unclaimed) Cal Grant C awards
from the C program, and making CCC CTE students eligible for the
Cal Grant B award, this bill will increase grant award amounts
available to CCC CTE students and provide them with additional
time to file financial aid applications.
AB 1721
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Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0003103