BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1382
AUTHOR: Committee on Veteran Affairs
AMENDED: April 5, 2010
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 21, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez
KEY POLICY ISSUE
Should state law relating to a veterans' education benefits
be consistent with federal law?
SUMMARY
This bill deletes the provision of law requiring, for all new
Cal Grant awards, the California Student Aid Commission
(CSAC) reduce "calculated financial need" by a veterans'
education benefit.
BACKGROUND
State . The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC)
administers a variety of student financial aid grant and loan
programs including the Cal Grant A program. Cal Grant A
awards pay for the full systemwide fees at the University of
California (UC) and the California State University (CSU); it
provides tuition support at private California colleges and
universities up to a maximum of $9,708. Cal Grant A awards
may be used for up to four-years full-time attendance, with
specified exceptions.
Federal . The Federal Department of Veteran's Affairs (DVA)
administers a variety of veteran's education assistance
benefits programs including the newly established Chapter 33,
familiarly known as the "Post 9/11 GI Bill," which became
operative in August 2009.
ANALYSIS
This bill deletes the provision of law requiring, for all new
Cal Grant awards, the California Student Aid Commission
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(CSAC) reduce "calculated financial need" by a veterans'
education benefit.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . At present, the CSAC uses federal
data, known as the federal needs analysis, to determine
student eligibility for Cal Grants. The formula
subtracts "family contributions" from the "cost of
attendance" to determine a students' Cal Grant needs.
In 2009, the federal law changed, eliminating veterans'
education benefits (VEB) as part of the family
contribution. This change in federal law means
information on VEB will no longer be collected. In
addition, as a consequence of the federal law change,
the federal government has removed VEB information from
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA is the one and only application that the CSAC
uses for Cal Grants. With this change the CSAC is no
longer able to easily capture this data from all Cal
Grant applicants. Without a change in statute, state
law will continue to conform to the now out-dated
federal standard and California will have to absorb the
costs associated with getting supplemental information.
2) The federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008
(HEQA) made certain changes to federal law impacting how
veterans' educational benefits (VEB) are treated for
purposes of the federal need analysis and the
calculation of resources that are available to meet the
veteran's estimated financial assistance (EFA).
Beginning with the 2009-10 academic year, VEB are not
treated as EFA and will, accordingly, not decrease the
amount of federal need-based aid a veteran student can
receive.
The recently enacted Post 9/11 veteran's education
benefits program appears to be fairly generous, although
benefits are pro-rated for less than full-time
attendance and for veterans with less than 36 months of
active duty service. Full benefits include:
a) Paying tuition and fees (up to $13,200
annually for students attending California
schools).
b) Monthly housing allowance (based on zip code
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of school: e.g. $2,763 in San Francisco; $2,252 in
Long Beach; $1,716 in Sacramento and $952 in
Ridgecrest).
c) Up to $1,000 annually for books and supplies.
d) Up to $1,200 for tutoring assistance.
e) Selected opportunities to transfer these
benefits to a spouse of dependent child.
3) Needs-based approach to Cal Grants. This measure will
not change the needs-based approach to awarding Cal
Grant awards.
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received.