AB 1364, as amended, Ting. 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 and maximum levels for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. Existing law requires that a Cal Grant B award for access costs, as defined, is not to exceed $1,551 annually. Existing law provides that this amount may be adjusted in the annual Budget Act.
This bill, commencing with the 2014-15 academic year, would require that the Cal Grant B access award be no less thanbegin delete $5,900end deletebegin insert
$1,710end insert, unless that amount exceeds the amount of the student’s calculated financial need, as specified. The bill would require the award for access costs to include the percentage increase, if any, in the California Consumer Price Indexbegin insert for All Urban Consumersend insert, as specified. In the event of a decrease in the California Consumer Pricebegin delete Index, no adjustment would be made to the minimum Cal Grant B access award under this billend deletebegin insert Index for All Urban Consumers from the prior academic year, the award amount would remain at its most recent level, as specifiedend insert. The bill would delete the provision authorizing the adjustment of this amount in the annual Budget Act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 69435 of the Education Code is amended
2to read:
(a) (1) A Cal Grant B award shall be used only for
4tuition, student fees, and access costs in a for-credit instructional
5program that is not less than one academic year in length.
6(2) The commission, or a qualifying institution pursuant to
7Article 8 (commencing with Section 69450), shall award access
8grants in a student’s first academic year. In subsequent years, the
9award shall include an additional amount to pay tuition or fees, or
10both, to attend college at a public or private four-year college or
11university or other qualifying institution for all Cal Grant B awards
12pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 66021.2.
13In no event shall the total award in any
year exceed the applicant’s
14calculated financial need.
15(3) Not more than 2 percent of new Cal Grant B recipients
16enrolling for the first time in an institution of postsecondary
17education shall be eligible for payments for tuition or fees, or both,
18in their first academic year of attendance. The commission shall
19adopt regulations specifying the criteria used to determine which
20applicants, if any, receive both tuition and fees plus the access
21grant in the first year of enrollment. Priority shall be given to
22students with the lowest expected family contribution pursuant to
23Section 69432.7 and the highest level of academic merit.
24(b) Commencing with the 2014-15 academic year:
25(1) An award for access costs under this article
shall be in an
26annual amount no less thanbegin delete five thousand nine hundred dollars begin insert one thousand seven hundred ten dollars ($1,710)end insert, unless
27($5,900)end delete
P3 1the award would exceed the amount of the student’s calculated
2financial need, in which case the award amount shall equal the
3amount of the student’s calculated financial need.
4(2) The award for access costs shall include the percentage
5increase, if any, in the California Consumer Price Indexbegin insert for end insertbegin insertAll
6Urban Consumersend insert as calculatedbegin insert
and certified by the commission
7from data reportedend insert by the Department of Industrial Relations.begin insert No
8later than January 15, 2014, for the 2014-15 academic year, no
9later than September 1, 2014, for the 2015-16 academic year, and
10no later than September 1 of the year prior to each academic year
11thereafter, the commission shall calculate and certify the
12percentage change using the data from the two most recent June
13indices.end insert In the event that the California Consumer Price Indexbegin delete14 decreases in any year, no adjustment to the minimum award amount
15will be made pursuant to this
subdivisionend delete
16decreases from the prior academic year, the award amount shall
17remain at its most recently certified levelend insert.
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