BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1997
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1997 (Portantino)
As Amended March 17, 2010
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 8-0
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|Ayes:|Block, Adams, Chesbro, | | |
| |Fong, Fuller, Galgiani, | | |
| |Portantino, Ruskin | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Community Colleges (CCC) to
use the Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid
(FAFSA) when awarding the CCC Board of Governors (BOG) fee
waiver to students, except on a case-by-case basis as determined
by a campus authority with responsibility for student financial
aid programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : A CCC student may apply for a BOG fee waiver by
submitting a FAFSA or by submitting a Short Form. Recent
studies estimate that at least 20% of CCC students received a
BOG fee waiver through the Short Form instead of the FAFSA,
which is the core document used to determine eligibility for all
major federal and state financial aid programs, including Cal
Grant, Pell Grant, institutional aid at the University of
California and the California State University, work-study
awards, scholarships, and federal student loans. Thus, these
students leave anywhere from $100 million to $500 million in
federal dollars on the table-aid that can help these students
attain their educational goals by requiring them to work less
and/or take out fewer loans.
When CCC fee requirements began in the 1980s, statutory
authority was given to CCC to award fee waivers, and the CCC
Chancellor's Office developed the Short Form in order to provide
rapid relief from fee payment for low income students. At that
time, the federal and state application processes were much
slower, relied upon a cumbersome paper system, and were
significantly more complex. The Short Form was necessary to
AB 1997
Page 2
provide immediate access to enrollment. However, the FAFSA has
changed: eligibility results are electronic and immediately
transmitted, and the FAFSA has been simplified, collecting
virtually the same information as the Short Form.
The discretion to use the Short Form provided in this bill
mirrors the discretion provided under federal law, which allows
forms other than the FAFSA to be used on a case-by-case basis
with justification and documentation where appropriate. The
campus financial aid administrator would have the discretion to
use the Short Form if it is in the student's best interests, so
long as the financial aid officer documents and reports the
exception to the CCC Chancellor's Office.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0004174