California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1976

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva

February 19, 2014

An act to amend Sections 69437 and 69437.6 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1976, as introduced, Quirk-Silva. Student financial aid: Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards.

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. Existing law limits the number of Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards that may be granted in an academic year to 22,500.

This bill would increase to 50,000 the number of Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards that may be granted in an academic year, commencing with the 2015-16 academic year. The bill would authorize the commission to use data from the 3 award years immediately preceding an award year in order to estimate the maximum number of award offers that the commission may make without the number of acceptances exceeding 50,000. The bill would also authorize the commission to exceed the 50,000 award limit in an academic year when the number of acceptances exceeds 50,000, but would further require, immediately subsequent to an academic year when the number of awards exceeds 50,000, that the commission reduce the number of awards made by the number by which the awards made in the previous academic year exceeded 50,000.

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.  

Section 69437 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

69437.  

(a) Commencing with the 2001-02 academic year, and
each academic year thereafter, there shall be established the
Competitive Cal Grant A and B award program for students who
did not receive a Cal Grant A or B entitlement award pursuant to
Article 2 (commencing with Section 69434), Article 3
(commencing with Section 69435), or Article 4 (commencing with
Section 69436). Awards made under this section are not
entitlements. The submission of an application by a student under
this section shall not entitle that student to an award. The selection
of students under this article shall be determined pursuant to
subdivision (c) and other relevant criteria established by the
commission.

(b)  begin delete A end delete begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Commencing with the 2015-16 academic year, a end insert total
of begin delete 22,500 end delete begin insert 50,000 end insert Cal Grant A and B awards shall be granted
annually under this article on a competitive basis for applicants
who meet the general eligibility criteria established in Article 1
(commencing with Section 69430) and the priorities established
by the commission pursuant to subdivision (c).

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 2) end insert  Fifty percent of the awards referenced in this subdivision
are available to all students, including California community
college students, who meet the financial need and academic
requirements established pursuant to this article. A student
enrolling at a qualifying baccalaureate degree granting institution
shall apply by the March 2 deadline. A California community
college student is eligible to apply at the March 2 or the September
2 deadline.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 3) end insert  Fifty percent of the awards referenced in this subdivision
are reserved for students who will be enrolled at a California
community college. The commission shall establish a second
application deadline of September 2 for community college
students to apply for these awards effective with the fall term or
semester of the 2001-02 academic year.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 4) end insert  If any awards are not distributed pursuant to paragraphs (1)
and (2) upon initial allocation of the awards under this article, the
commission shall make awards to as many eligible students as
possible, beginning with the students with the lowest expected
family contribution and highest academic merit, consistent with
the criteria adopted by the commission pursuant to subdivision
(c), as practicable without exceeding an annual cumulative total
of begin delete 22,500 end delete begin insert 50,000 end insert awards.

begin insert

(5) In granting awards for an award year under this article, the
commission is authorized to use data from the three award years
immediately preceding that year in order to estimate the maximum
number of award offers that the commission may make without
the number of acceptances exceeding 50,000. Notwithstanding
paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, the commission may exceed the
50,000 award limit in an academic year when the number of
acceptances exceeds 50,000. In any academic year immediately
subsequent to an academic year when the number of awards
exceeds 50,000, the commission shall reduce the number of awards
made by the number by which the awards made in the previous
academic year exceeded 50,000.

end insert

(c) (1) On or before February 1, 2001, acting pursuant to a
public hearing process that is consistent with the Bagley-Keene
Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120)
of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code), the commission shall establish selection criteria for Cal
Grant A and B awards under the competitive program that give
special consideration to disadvantaged students, taking into
consideration those financial, educational, cultural, language,
home, community, environmental, and other conditions that hamper
a student’s access to, and ability to persist in, postsecondary
education programs.

(2) Additional consideration shall be given to each of the
following:

(A) Students who graduated from high school or its equivalent
prior to the 2000-01 academic year. This subparagraph shall not
be applicable after the 2004-05 academic year.

(B) Students pursuing Cal Grant B awards who reestablish their
grade point averages.

(C) Students who did not receive awards pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 69434), Article 3 (commencing with
Section 69435), or Article 4 (commencing with Section 69436).

(d) All other students who meet the eligibility requirements
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 69430) are eligible
to compete for an award pursuant to this article.

SEC. 2.  

Section 69437.6 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69437.6.  

(a) An applicant competing for an award under this
article shall meet all the requirements of Article 1 (commencing
with Section 69430).

(b) To compete for a competitive Cal Grant A award, an
applicant shall, at a minimum, meet all of the requirements of
Article 2 (commencing with Section 69434), with the exception
of paragraphs (1) and (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 69434.
However, in lieu of meeting the grade point average requirement
set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69434, an
applicant may submit a community college or college grade point
average of at least 2.4 on a 4.0 scale.

(c) To compete for a competitive Cal Grant B award, an
applicant shall, at a minimum, meet all of the requirements of
Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435), with the exception
of paragraphs (1) and (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 69435.3.
However, in lieu of meeting the grade point average requirements
of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 69435.3, a student
may do either of the following:

(1) Demonstrate attainment of a community college or college
grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.

(2) Reestablish his or her grade point average by completing at
least 16 cumulative units of credit for academic coursework at an
accredited California community college, as defined by the
commission, by regulation, with at least a 2.0 community college
grade point average.

(d) To compete for a competitive California Community College
Transfer Cal Grant Award, an applicant shall, at a minimum, meet
the requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 69436),
with the exception of paragraphs (8) and (9) of subdivision (b) of
Section 69436.

(e) All other competitors shall, at a minimum, comply with all
of the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9.

(f) An individual selected for a Cal Grant A award who enrolls
in a California community college may elect to have the award
held in reserve for him or her for a period not to exceed two
academic years, except that the commission may extend the period
in which his or her award may be held in reserve for up to three
academic years if, in the commission’s judgment, the rate of
academic progress has been as rapid as could be expected for the
personal and financial conditions that the student has encountered.
The commission shall, in this case, hold the award in reserve for
the additional year. Upon receipt of a request to transfer the award
to a tuition or fee charging qualifying institution, the individual
shall be eligible to receive the Cal Grant A award previously held
in reserve if, at the time of the request, he or she meets all of the
requirements of this article. Upon receipt of the request, the
commission shall reassess the financial need of the award recipient.
The commission may prescribe the forms and procedures to be
utilized for the purposes of this section. A recipient’s years of
eligibility for payment of benefits shall be based upon his or her
grade level at the time the award is transferred to the tuition or fee
charging qualifying institution. Any award so held in reserve shall
only be counted once toward the begin delete 22,500 end delete begin insert 50,000 end insert awards authorized
by this article.