Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1358

Introduced by Senator Block

February 19, 2016

An act begin insert to amend Sections 69433.5 and 69433.6 of the Education Code, end insert relating to begin delete postsecondary education. end delete begin insert student financial aid. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1358, as amended, Block. begin delete Postsecondary education: student financial aid. end delete begin insert Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program. end insert

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Existing law, the Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. The program prohibits an applicant from receiving one or a combination of program awards in excess of the amount equivalent to the award level for a total of a 4-year period of full-time attendance in an undergraduate program, except as provided.

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This bill would increase this generally applicable maximum for total Cal Grant awards to an applicant to the award level for a 6-year period of full-time attendance.

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Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending segments of postsecondary education.

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This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would make additional student financial aid options available for students attending segments of postsecondary education.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION end insert begin insert 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 69433.5 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

69433.5.  

(a) Only a resident of California, as determined by
the commission pursuant to Part 41 (commencing with Section
68000), is eligible for an initial Cal Grant award. The recipient
shall remain eligible for award renewal only if he or she is a
California resident, in attendance, and making satisfactory
academic progress at a qualifying institution, as determined by the
commission.

(b) A part-time student shall not be discriminated against in the
selection of Cal Grant Program award recipients, and an award to
a part-time student shall be approximately proportional to the time
the student spends in the instructional program, as determined by
the commission. A first-time Cal Grant Program award recipient
who is a part-time student shall be eligible for a full-time renewal
award if he or she becomes a full-time student.

(c) Cal Grant Program awards shall be awarded without regard
to race, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, or age.

(d) An applicant shall not receive more than one type of Cal
Grant Program award concurrently. An applicant shall not:

(1) Receive one or a combination of Cal Grant Program awards
in excess of the amount equivalent to the award level for a total
of begin delete four end delete begin insert six end insert years of full-time attendance in an undergraduate
program, except as provided in Section 69433.6.

(2) Have obtained a baccalaureate degree before receiving a
Cal Grant Program award.

(e) A Cal Grant Program award, except as provided in Section
69440, may only be used for educational expenses of a program
of study leading directly to an undergraduate degree or certificate,
or for expenses of undergraduate coursework in a program of study
leading directly to a first professional degree, but for which no
baccalaureate degree is awarded.

(f) The commission shall, for students who accelerate college
attendance, increase the amount of begin insert the end insert award proportional to the
period of additional attendance resulting from attendance in classes
that fulfill requirements or electives for graduation during summer
terms, sessions, or quarters. In the aggregate, the total amount a
student may receive in a begin delete four-year end delete begin insert six-year end insert period begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not
be increased as a result of accelerating his or her progress to a
degree by attending summer terms, sessions, or quarters.

(g) The commission shall notify Cal Grant award recipients of
the availability of funding for the summer term, session, or quarter
through prominent notice in financial aid award letters, materials,
guides, electronic information, and other means that may include,
but not necessarily be limited to, surveys, newspaper articles, or
attachments to communications from the commission and any
other published documents.

(h) The commission may require, by the adoption of rules and
regulations, the production of reports, accounting, documents, or
other necessary statements from the award recipient and the college
or university of attendance pertaining to the use or application of
the award.

(i) A Cal Grant Program award may be utilized only at a
qualifying institution.

(j) A recipient who initially qualified for both a Cal Grant A
award and a Cal Grant B award, and received a Cal Grant B award,
may be awarded a renewal Cal Grant A award if that recipient
subsequently became ineligible for a renewal Cal Grant B award
and meets the applicable Cal Grant A financial need and income
and asset criteria.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 69433.6 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

69433.6.  

(a) Cal Grant A awards and Cal Grant B awards may
be renewed for a total of the equivalent of begin delete four end delete begin insert six end insert years of full-time
attendance in an undergraduate program provided that minimum
financial need as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 69432.9 continues to exist. Commencing with the 2001-02
academic year, the total number of years of eligibility for grants
pursuant to this section shall be based on the student’s educational
level in his or her course of study as designated by the institution
of attendance when the recipient initially receives payment for a
grant.

(b) (1) Commencing with the 2014-15 academic year, a
recipient who was determined to be ineligible for a renewal award
in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 academic year because he or she
exceeded the maximum household income or asset level established
by subdivision (k) of Section 69432.7, or failed to meet the
minimum need threshold established by paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9, shall be eligible to receive a
renewal award if the recipient meets all program eligibility
requirements for the program from which he or she was previously
disqualified and the recipient has remaining renewal award
eligibility. For purposes of determining a student’s remaining
renewal award eligibility, an academic year during which a student
was ineligible shall reduce his or her renewal award eligibility by
one full-time equivalent year.

(2) Commencing with the 2015-16 academic year, a recipient
who is determined to be ineligible for a renewal award because,
during the immediately preceding academic year, he or she
exceeded the maximum household income or asset level established
by subdivision (k) of Section 69432.7, or failed to meet the
minimum need threshold established by paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9, shall be eligible to receive a
renewal award if the recipient meets all program eligibility
requirements for the program from which he or she was previously
disqualified and the recipient has remaining renewal award
eligibility. For purposes of determining a student’s remaining
renewal award eligibility, an academic year during which a student
was ineligible shall reduce his or her renewal award eligibility by
one full-time equivalent year.

(c) For a student enrolled in an institutionally prescribed
five-year undergraduate program, Cal Grant A awards and Cal
Grant B awards may be renewed for a total of five years of full-time
attendance, provided that minimum financial need, as defined in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9, continues to
exist.

(d) (1) A Cal Grant Program award recipient who has completed
a baccalaureate degree, and who 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 is eligible for, but not entitled to, renewal of a Cal
Grant Program award for an additional year of full-time attendance,
if minimum financial need, as defined in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9, continues to exist.

(2) Payment for an additional year is limited to only those
courses required for an initial teaching authorization. An award
made under this subdivision may not be used for other courses.

(3) A student’s Cal Grant Program renewal eligibility shall not
have lapsed more than 15 months before the payment of an award
for purposes of this subdivision.

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SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would make additional student financial aid options
available for students attending segments of postsecondary
education.

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