BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2160
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2160 (Ting)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |31-2 |(August 19, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Requires a grade point average (GPA) for all high
school seniors at public schools to be submitted to the
California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) electronically by a
school or school district official.
The Senate amendments :
1)Establish that each pupil enrolled in grade 12 in a California
public school, including a charter school, other than pupils
who opt out, shall be deemed to be a Cal Grant applicant.
2)Require CSAC to require:
a) A GPA be submitted to it for all Cal Grant A and B
applicants, except for those permitted to provide test
scores in lieu of a GPA;
b) A GPA be submitted to it electronically for all grade 12
pupils at public schools, including charter schools, each
academic year, except for pupils who have opted out. Social
security numbers must not be included in the information
submitted to CSAC unless CSAC determines it necessary to
complete the application for financial aid, in which case
the school may obtain permission from the pupil and/or
guardian.
c) Each reported GPA include a certification, executed
under penalty of perjury, by a school official, that the
GPA reported is accurately reported.
3)Provide Legislative intent that high schools and institutions
of higher education certify the GPA of their students in time
to meet the application deadlines imposed by law.
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4)Requires a school district or charter school to provide an
opportunity for a student and/or guardian to opt out of all of
the aforementioned and requires students and/or guardians to
be notified of the opportunity to opt out.
5)Provides that until a student turns 18 years of age, only a
parent or guardian may opt the pupil out. Once a student
turns 18 years of age, only the student may opt himself or
herself out.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires GPAs for Cal Grant A and B applicants to be submitted
to CSAC; requires GPAs to include a certification by a school
official that the GPA is accurately reported; authorizes CSAC
to establish grace periods for the receipt of GPAs and
corrections; and, establishes Legislative intent that high
schools and institutions of higher education certify GPAs of
students in time to meet Cal Grant application deadlines.
(Education Code (EDC) Section 69432)
2)Authorized school districts to release information from pupil
records to agencies or organizations in connection with the
application of a pupil for, or receipt of, financial aid.
However, information permitting the personal identification of
a pupil or his or her parents may be disclosed only as may be
necessary for purposes as to determine the eligibility of the
pupil for financial aid, to determine the amount of the
financial aid, to determine the conditions that will be
imposed regarding the financial aid, or to enforce the terms
or conditions of the financial aid. (EDC Section 49076)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Mandate: Potentially significant reimbursable mandate on
school districts to electronically submit the GPAs of every
12th grade student, with specified exceptions, and to
administer an opt-out system for families.
2)CSAC administration: Potentially significant workload to
receive and process additional GPAs, and to provide technical
assistance to schools and school districts. This workload
would be off-set, to some degree, by a reduction in the number
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of hard copy GPAs that CSAC processes.
3)Cal Grant awards: Potentially significant Cal Grant costs
(General Fund), to the extent that this bill results in more
Cal Grant awards.
COMMENTS : The Education Trust-West (ETW) is the sponsor of this
bill. ETW issued a report in 2013 entitled, The Cost of
Opportunity, which found that only 54% of California's 12th
graders completed a FAFSA in 2012, and only 50% completed both
steps of the requirements to apply for a Cal Grant by the March
2nd deadline. In 2014, a follow up Equity Alert entitled,
Doorways to College Aid: Boosting Access to Financial Aid in
California, found that 2013 rates increased statewide by 7% and
8% respectively; a total of 25,000 additional FAFSA completions
and more than 30,000 additional Cal Grant applications. ETW
notes that, while these increases highlight the work by school
districts and the state to help students apply for financial
aid, still 170,000 (42%) 12th graders from the class of 2013 did
not complete a Cal Grant application. ETW notes that one
"high-impact practice employed by districts is to submit GPAs
electronically for all students. Some districts continue to
balk at adopting this practice due to privacy concerns despite
the fact that it has proven effective in getting more students
into the pipeline for college aid. A number of districts that
have shifted to this practice have seen dramatic gains in the
number of Cal Grant awards offered to their students." ETW
research indicates that districts that piloted using electronic
GPA verification and other data-driven practices found a 15%
increase in Cal Grant completion.
This bill would require public high schools to electronically
transfer high school GPAs for all high school seniors to CSAC.
According to the author, while some districts already provide
GPAs to CSAC for all or some students, many do not. The author
notes that Los Angeles and San Francisco unified school
districts are already providing GPAs for all high school seniors
to CSAC and, according to the author, report that costs for
computer programming are minor and absorbable and districts
experienced an overall cost savings associated with high school
counselors no longer being required to complete paper forms for
students. The author also notes that CSAC reported processing
over 70,000 paper GPA forms in 2013, taking significant staff
time. The author believes that overall cost savings associated
with this bill could result in more time for high school
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counsellors and CSAC to outreach to students encouraging FAFSA
completion. Without legislation, the author argues "it would
take several years for all school districts to implement the
best practice in this bill."
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0005058