BILL NUMBER: AB 2787 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chávez
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 70022 of the Education Code, relating to
student financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2787, as introduced, Chávez. Student financial aid: Middle
Class Scholarship Program: private nonprofit postsecondary
educational institutions.
Under existing law, the Middle Class Scholarship Program provides
that, subject to an available and sufficient appropriation,
commencing with the 2014-15 academic year, an undergraduate student
enrolled at the University of California or the California State
University, and meeting certain requirements, is eligible for a
scholarship award that, combined with other federal, state, and
institutionally administered grants and fee waivers, totals up to 40%
of the systemwide tuition and fees. Under existing law, to receive
an award under the Middle Class Scholarship Program, a student is
required to have an annual household income that does not exceed
$150,000 as adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living,
satisfy specified requirements for a Cal Grant award, be a California
resident or exempt from paying nonresident tuition, file specified
financial aid forms, timely apply for publicly funded student
financial aid for which he or she is eligible, maintain at least a
2.0 grade point average, be pursuing his or her first undergraduate
baccalaureate degree or be enrolled in a specified professional
teacher preparation program, and be enrolled at least part time.
Existing law transfers $159,000,000 from the General Fund to the
Middle Class Scholarship Fund, and appropriates that sum to the
Student Aid Commission for purposes of the scholarship program for
the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Existing law requires the University of California and the
California State University, in order for students of their
respective segments to remain eligible to receive a scholarship award
under the Middle Class Scholarship Program, to not supplant their
respective institutional need-based grants with funds provided for
scholarships under this program, and to maintain their funding
amounts at a level that, at a minimum, is equal to the level
maintained for undergraduate students during the 2013-14 academic
year.
This bill would extend the Middle Class Scholarship Program to
undergraduate students who meet the requirements of the program and
are enrolled in private nonprofit postsecondary educational
institutions, commencing with the 2017-18 academic year, as
specified, but the bill would not affect the statutory appropriation
for the program for the 2017-18 fiscal year that is referenced above.
The bill would subject participating private nonprofit postsecondary
educational institutions to the requirement to maintain its
scholarship funding levels, as referenced above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 70022 of the Education Code is amended to read:
70022. (a) (1) Subject to an available and sufficient
appropriation, commencing with the 2014-15 academic year, an
undergraduate student enrolled in the California State
University or University, the University of
California California, or, commen
cing with the 2017-18 academic year, a private nonprofit
postsecondary educational institution who meets the
requirements of paragraph (2) is eligible for a scholarship award as
described in that paragraph.
(2) Each academic year, except as provided in paragraphs (3) and
(4), an eligible student shall receive a scholarship award in an
amount that, combined with other federal, state, or institutionally
administered student grants or fee waivers received by an eligible
student, is up to 40 percent of the amount charged to that student in
that academic year for mandatory systemwide tuition and
fees, fees of a student of the California State
University or the University of California, or the tuition and
mandatory fees of a student of a private nonprofit postsecondary
educational institution, if all of the following requirements
are met, to the satisfaction of the commission, each academic year:
(A) The student's annual household income does not exceed one
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000). For awards distributed for
the 2016-17 academic year and subsequent academic years, the
commission shall annually adjust the maximum income level set under
this subparagraph in accordance with the percentage changes in the
cost of living within the meaning of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e)
of Section 8 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. For
purposes of this article, annual household income shall be calculated
in a manner that is consistent with the requirements applicable to
the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program (Chapter
1.7 (commencing with Section 69430)) and Section 69506.
(B) Beginning with awards distributed in the 2015-16 academic
year, the student's household asset level shall not exceed one
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000). For awards distributed in
the 2016-17 academic year and subsequent academic years, the
commission shall annually adjust the maximum household asset level
set under this subparagraph in accordance with the percentage changes
in the cost of living within the meaning of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (e) of Section 8 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution. For purposes of this article, student's household asset
level shall be calculated in a manner that is consistent with the
requirements applicable to the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos
Cal Grant Program (Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430)) and
Section 69506.
(C) The student satisfies the eligibility requirements for a Cal
Grant award pursuant to Section 69433.9, except that a student who is
exempt from nonresident tuition under Section 68130.5 shall not be
required to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section
69433.9.
(D) The student is exempt from paying nonresident
tuition. tuition, or would be exempt if the student
attended a public institution.
(E) The student completes and submits a Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application. The FAFSA must be submitted
or postmarked by no later than March 2. If the student is not able to
complete a FAFSA application, the student may satisfy this
subparagraph by submitting an application determined by the
commission to be equivalent to the FAFSA application for purposes of
this article by March 2.
(F) The student makes a timely application or applications for all
other federal, state, or institutionally administered grants or fee
waivers for which the student is eligible.
(G) The student maintains satisfactory academic progress in a
manner that is consistent with the requirements applicable to the
Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program pursuant to
subdivision (m) of Section 69432.7.
(H) The student is pursuing his or her first undergraduate
baccalaureate degree or has completed a baccalaureate degree and has
been admitted to, and is enrolled in, a program of professional
teacher preparation at an institution approved by the California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(I) The student is enrolled at least part time.
(3) (A) The percentage specified in paragraph (2) shall be reduced
by 0.6-percent increments per one thousand dollars ($1,000) of
annual household income in excess of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000), to a minimum 10 percent of mandatory systemwide
the tuition and fees for an academic year,
provided that no scholarship award shall be provided to a student
with an annual household income exceeding one hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($150,000). Beginning with award calculations for the 2016-17
academic year, and for subsequent academic years, the commission
shall annually adjust the income levels specified in this
subparagraph by the percentage change in the cost of living within
the meaning of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 8 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution and shall adjust the
incremental reduction accordingly to ensure that a minimum of 10
percent of mandatory systemwide the
tuition and fees for an academic year are awarded. This reduction
shall be in addition to any reduction required by Section 70023.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for any student who
qualifies for a scholarship award of at least one dollar ($1), the
minimum annual scholarship amount for full-time enrollment is ninety
dollars ($90).
(4) For the 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17 academic years, the
maximum amount of a student's scholarship award shall be 35 percent,
50 percent, and 75 percent, respectively, of the total scholarship
award amount that the student would otherwise be eligible to receive.
(b) In order for students enrolled in their respective segments to
remain eligible to receive a scholarship award under this article,
the University of California and California,
the California State University
University, and a participating private nonprofit postsecondary
educational institution shall not supplant their respective
institutional need-based grants with the funds provided for
scholarships under this article, and shall maintain their funding
amounts at a level that, at a minimum, is equal to the level
maintained for undergraduate students during the 2013-14 academic
year.
(c) The University of California and the California State
University shall report on the implementation of this article as part
of the report made pursuant to Section 66021.1.
(d) A Middle Class Scholarship Program award authorized pursuant
to this article shall be defined as a full-time equivalent grant. An
award to a part-time student shall be a fraction of a full-time
grant, as determined by the proportionate amount charged for
systemwide the tuition and fees. A part-time
student shall not be discriminated against in the selection of Middle
Class Scholarship Program awards. For purposes of this section,
"full-time student" and "part-time student" have the same meaning as
specified in subdivision (f) of Section 69432.7.
(e) Section 70023 does not apply to a student attending a private
nonprofit postsecondary educational institution.