Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 2, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1318

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 66021.2 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1318, as amended, Bonilla. Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant 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, as defined.

This bill would add provisions that would set the maximum Cal Grant award levels for students attending begin delete nonprofit, end delete nonpublic postsecondary educational institutions that are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, commencing with the 2014-15 award year. The bill would provide that a begin delete nonprofit, end delete nonpublic postsecondary educational institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges would be deemed a qualifying institution if the total amount of institutional aid, as defined, provided to California resident students by that institution, in any award year, is no less than 50% of the total Cal Grant awards received by their students, except for institutions meeting prescribed conditions.

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.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California relies on private begin delete nonprofit end delete colleges and universities
accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC) to help meet the state’s higher education needs begin delete , educating
24 percent of the state’s undergraduates end delete .

begin delete

(b) California provides Cal Grant support to approximately
26,000 students annually attending WASC accredited private
nonprofit colleges and universities, and additional California
students attending these institutions are educated at zero cost to
the state.

end delete begin delete

(c) Eighty-five percent of all students attending California’s
WASC accredited private nonprofit colleges and universities
receive institutionally funded student aid.

end delete begin delete

(d) California’s WASC accredited private nonprofit colleges
and universities effectively educate a diverse state population, and
have a four-year graduation rate for Cal Grant students in excess
of 60 percent.

end delete begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  The maximum award for Cal Grant students attending
WASC accredited private begin delete nonprofit end delete colleges and universities has
not increased since 1999:

(1) It was cut by almost 15 percent for the 2005-06 and 2006-07
cohorts.

(2) It was cut by 5 percent for new and renewal grants for the
2012-13 award year, and is scheduled to be cut an additional 1.5
percent in the 2013-14 award year and 11 percent in the 2014-15
award year for new awardees.

(3) Even if the maximum award had not been cut, its value
would have decreased by over 30 percent due to inflation.

(4) In inflation-adjusted dollars, the maximum award for the
2014-15 award year will be the lowest amount California has
invested in academically qualified, financially deserving students
that attend private begin delete nonprofit end delete WASC accredited institutions.

begin delete

(f) Cal Grant students attending private nonprofit WASC
accredited institutions are a good investment for the state because
of all of the following:

end delete begin delete

(1) They have a high persistence and graduation rate.

end delete begin delete

(2) They free up capacity at public institutions.

end delete begin delete

(3) They are unlikely to need Cal Grant assistance for their
children.

end delete begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  The Cal Grant program effectively and successfully helps
California’s private begin delete nonprofit end delete colleges and universities to recruit,
retain, and graduate historically underrepresented students from
low-income families. begin delete Cal Grants are a ladder of opportunity, and
they leverage nonpublic student aid to help students graduate from
college without excessive student debt: end delete

begin delete

(1) Cal Grant recipients are 33 percent Latino, 18 percent Asian
American, 6 percent African American, 1 percent Native American,
1 percent Pacific Islander, 4 percent two or more races, 13 percent
unknown, and 24 percent Caucasian.

(2) Cal Grant recipients are some of California’s financially
neediest students, with an average family income for Cal Grant A
students of $40,896.

(h) Cal Grant students at California’s WASC accredited private
nonprofit colleges and universities account for less that 2 percent
of California’s postsecondary education budget.

(i) Cal Grant students at WASC accredited private nonprofit
colleges and universities deserve to be treated similarly to as similar
students attending public institutions.

end delete begin delete

(j)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  Predictable and stable funding formulas and eligibility
requirements ensure that the state maximizes its investment and
allows families to plan and pay for higher education.

begin delete

(k)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  Legislative action is needed to adopt a reasonable formula
that supports predictability and supports parity for students at
private begin delete nonprofit end delete colleges.

SEC. 2.  

Section 66021.2 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

66021.2.  

Consistent with the state’s historic commitment to
provide educational opportunity by ensuring both student access
to and selection of an institution of higher education for students
with financial need, the long-term policy of the
Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program
established pursuant to Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section
69430) of Part 42 shall be as follows:

(a) Commencing with the 2001-02 academic year and every
year thereafter, an applicant for a Cal Grant A or B award shall
receive an award that is not in excess of the financial need amount
determined by the Student Aid Commission pursuant to Section
69432.9 if he or she complies with all of the following
requirements:

(1) Demonstrates financial need under the criteria adopted
pursuant to Section 69432.9.

(2) Attains a grade point average, as defined in Section 69432.7,
meeting the requirements of Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section
69430) of Part 42.

(3) Complies with each of the eligibility criteria applicable to
the type of Cal Grant award for which he or she is applying.

(b) (1) The maximum Cal Grant A award for a student attending
the University of California or the California State University shall
equal the mandatory systemwide fees in each of those segments.

(2) The maximum Cal Grant B award for a student to which
this subdivision is applicable shall equal the mandatory systemwide
fees in the segment attended by the student, except for community
college students who receive waivers from the Board of Governors
of the California Community Colleges, plus the access award
calculated as specified in Article 3 (commencing with Section
69435) of Chapter 1.7 of Part 42, except that in the first year of
enrollment in a qualifying institution, the maximum award shall
be only for the amount of the access award.

(c) The maximum Cal Grant awards for students attending
nonpublic institutions shall be as follows:

(1) The maximum Cal Grant A award shall equal the tuition
award level established in the Budget Act of 2000, or the amount
as adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts.

(2) The maximum Cal Grant B award shall equal the amount
of the tuition award as established in the Budget Act of 2000, or
the amount as adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts, plus the
amount of the access costs specified in Section 69435, except that,
in the first year of enrollment in a qualifying institution, the
maximum award shall be only for the amount of the access award.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), and notwithstanding
Section 69432:

(A) The maximum Cal Grant award for a student attending a
begin delete nonprofit, end delete nonpublic postsecondary educational institution
accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
shall be set and maintained at 80 percent of the base funding per
Cal Grant student at the University of California and the California
State University, as determined by the average state support per
student plus the average Cal Grant award for the University of
California and the California State University, except as provided
in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive.

(i) For the 2014-15 award year, the maximum award shall be
70 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(ii) For the 2015-16 award year, the maximum award shall be
80 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(iii) For the 2016-17 award year, the maximum award shall be
90 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(iv) For the 2017-18 award year and each award year thereafter,
the maximum award shall be 100 percent of the amount calculated
pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(B) A begin delete nonprofit, end delete nonpublic postsecondary educational institution
accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
shall be deemed a qualifying institution if the total amount of
institutional aid provided to California resident students by that
institution, in any award year, is no less than 50 percent of the total
Cal Grant awards received by its students, unless that institution
has fewer than 50 students receiving Cal Grant awards or charges
an annual tuition that is no more than 50 percent of the average of
the annual tuition charged by all institutions to which this
subparagraph is applicable.

(C) As used in this paragraph:

(i) “Average state support per student” means the total General
Fund support for the University of California and the California
State University divided by the number of California resident
full-time equivalent students for each four-year public segment.

(ii) “Institutional aid” includes scholarships and fellowships
granted and funded by a postsecondary educational institution or
by a department within that institution, and includes scholarships
targeted to certain individuals based on, for example, state of
residence, major field of study, or athletic team participation, for
which the institution designates the recipient.

(d) Commencing with the 2000-01 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, the Cal Grant C award shall be utilized
only for occupational or technical training.

(e) Commencing with the 2000-01 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, the Cal Grant T award shall be used only
for one academic year of full-time attendance in a program of
professional preparation that has been approved by the California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(f) An institution of higher education in this state that
participates in the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal
Grant Program shall not reduce its level of per capita need-based
institutional financial aid to undergraduate students, excluding
loans, below the total level awarded in the 2000-01 academic year.

(g) The implementation of the policy set forth in this section
shall maintain a balance between the state’s policy goals of
ensuring student access to and selection of an institution of higher
education for students with financial need and academic merit.

(h) It is the policy of the State of California that the
Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program
supplement the federal Pell Grant program.

(i) An award under the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos
Cal Grant Program shall not guarantee admission to an institution
of higher education or admission to a specific campus or program.