BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 62
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
SB
62 (Pavley) - As Amended June 2, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Student financial aid: Assumption Program of Loans
for Education: Governor's Teaching Fellowships Program
SUMMARY: Makes various programmatic changes to the Assumption
Program of Loans for Education (APLE). Specifically, this bill:
1)Amends the definition of "eligible school" to mean one that
serves a percentage of an unduplicated count of students
classified as an English learner, eligible for a free or
reduced-price meal, or is a foster youth, as determined by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).
2)Eliminates the requirement that an eligible school must rank
in the lowest two deciles on the Academic Performance Index
(API).
3)Eliminates the requirement that an applicant has received or
is approved to receive a loan under the Federal Family
SB 62
Page 2
Education Loan Program and replaces it with the requirement
that an applicant has demonstrated financial need.
4)Requires that an applicant will teach in a shortage area, as
determined by the SPI.
5)Removes the provision allowing up to 400 APLE loan assumption
agreements to go to credentialed teachers, as specified, each
year.
6)Modifies the list of schools (that serve a large population of
pupils from low-income families) that the SPI is required to
provide to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) each
year.
7)Eliminates the prohibition for teachers in self-contained
classrooms and multi-subject credential holders from
participating in the APLE; and allows the list of teaching
shortage areas that the SPI must develop each year to include
teaching in a self-contained classroom and multi-subject
credentials.
8)Amends the provision allowing loan forgiveness of $1,000 per
year for those who teach math, science or special education by
eliminating the requirement that the school is in the lowest
60 percentile of the API.
9)Modifies the annual report that CSAC is required to submit to
the Legislature, as specified.
10)Authorizes CSAC to continue to implement APLE as it read on
January 1, 2015, for the allocation of funds for loan
agreements made before that date and for the purpose of
collecting payments from former program participants.
SB 62
Page 3
11)Makes the implementation of APLE contingent upon funding
provided in the annual Budget Act; and, caps the number of
loan assumption warrants to 1,000 in any academic year if
funding is provided.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes CSAC as the primary state agency to administer
state-authorized student financial aid programs available to
eligible students attending all eligible segments of
postsecondary education (Education Code Section 69510, et
seq.).
2)Establishes the APLE program, administered by the CSAC, to
provide loan assumption benefits to credentialed teachers;
specifies that qualifying schools include those with high
proportions of low-income youth or emergency permit teachers
and those located in rural areas; and, requires the subject
area shortages to annually be determined by the SPI (EC
Section 69612, et seq.).
3)Forgives up to $11,000 of college loan debt for a person who
teaches for four consecutive years in a qualifying school or
subject area (paying $2,000 for the first year of teaching
service and $3,000 for each of the next three years of
teaching); and, provides additional loan forgiveness of $1,000
per year for up to four years for those who teach math,
science or special education (for a total of $15,000) and an
additional $1,000 for those who teach math, science or special
SB 62
Page 4
education in schools with an API of 1 or 2 (for a total of
$19,000) (EC Sections 69613.4 and 69613.8).
4)Prohibits CSAC from awarding a greater number of agreements
than is authorized in the annual Budget Act (EC 69615.8).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, cost pressures up to tens of millions of dollars to
the General Fund (GF); and, administrative cost pressures would
be minimal to the CSU, but in the high hundreds of thousands of
dollars for CSAC to administer APLE awards.
To note, the final 2015-16 State Budget, approves $15 million
from the GF to replace expiring federal funding for APLE and
other related programs. However, the final budget does not
authorize funding in order to increase the number of APLE
awards.
COMMENTS: Background. According to the California Commission
on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), enrollment in teacher
preparation programs has fallen from almost 78,000 a decade ago,
to 19,933 in 2013, a decrease of 74 percent. Additionally, the
number of CTC newly issued credentials for teachers has fallen
every year for the past decade. The California Teachers
Association contends that one-third of California's teachers are
at or near retirement age.
SB 62
Page 5
According to information provided by the author, over a decade
ago the state spent over $80 million on statewide teacher
recruitment efforts; however, if APLE is fully phased out over
the course of the next few years, the state will eventually
spend zero dollars on efforts to increase the number of teachers
in the state.
Need for the measure. According to the author, many reasons
exist as to why the state has a shortage of teachers; from the
costs of obtaining a college degree, to the low salaries
teachers make. The author contends, "Eliminating California's
teacher recruitment and financial aid programs over the past
decade has not helped matters."
Assumption Program of Loans for Education (APLE). The APLE
warrants are given to credential candidates; the warrants are
then redeemed for the loan assumption benefit once the candidate
has earned a credential and completed a year of eligible
teaching. The program "forgives" up to $11,000 of college loan
debt for a person who teaches for four consecutive years in a
qualifying school or subject area (paying $2,000 for the first
year of teaching service and $3,000 for each of the next three
years of teaching). Qualifying schools include those with high
proportions of low-income youth or emergency permit teachers and
those located in rural areas.
The 2012-2013 Budget Act included language authorizing a total
of 7,300 warrants for loan assumption, but the Governor line
item vetoed said provision. This year's budget does not include
funding for APLE warrants.
This measure seeks to reinstate and improve APLE in order to
meet California's current teaching demands. It is presently
unclear as to how this measure will be funded and implemented
SB 62
Page 6
since this year's budget did not include funding for APLE.
Policy consideration. In response to concerns that public
financial aid dollars are being utilized at institutions of
questionable quality, both the state and federal level have
enacted policies requiring institutions to meet specified
performance standards. In the Cal Grant program, institutions
are required to meet graduation rate and loan default rate
requirements.
If the intent of the author is to support qualified teachers in
underserved communities, the author may wish to consider a
review of the institutional eligibility requirements for APLE.
That is to say, should the Cal Grant standards be applicable for
APLE institutional eligibility?
Previous legislation. SB 1264 (Pavley) of 2014, which was held
in the Senate Appropriations Committee, proposed to establish
the Educator Excellence Program, an assumption loan program for
up to 6,500 teachers who satisfied specified criteria.
SB 212 (Pavley) of 2013, which was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, sought to appropriate $5 million, from
an unspecified funding source, for 7,200 new warrants for the
assumption of school loans for teachers in areas with identified
teacher shortages.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
SB 62
Page 7
California College and University Police Chiefs
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
California Student Aid Commission
California Teachers Association
Common Sense Kids Action
Garvey School District
Las Virgenes Unified School District
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles Unified School District
Saugus Union School District
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
(sponsor)
SB 62
Page 8
One individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960