Bill Text: CA AB1976 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Student financial aid: Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2014-09-27 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB1976 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1976-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1976	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 3, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Quirk-Silva
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Fong,   Skinner,   Ting,   and
Wieckowski   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2014

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



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1976, as amended, 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  require the commission to calculate a target for
awards to be paid in an award year as specified, estimate a 
take-rate   take rate  for awards by dividing the
total number of awards paid by the total number of offers made during
the 3 award years immediately preceding that award year, and
estimate the number of award offers that the commission may make to
achieve the target for awards to be paid, as specified. The bill
would also authorize the commission to exceed the  50,000
  22,500  award limit in an academic year when the
number of acceptances exceeds  50,000   22,500
 , under specified 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.  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) (1)  Commencing with the 2015-16 academic year,
  Except as provided in paragraphs (5) and (6),  a
total of  50,000   22,500  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).
   (2) 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.
   (3) 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.
   (4) 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 
50,000   22,500  awards.
   (5) (A) In granting awards under this article for the 2015-16
award year, the commission shall do all of the following:
   (i) Establish a target of  50,000   22,500
 awards to be paid.
   (ii) Estimate the  take-rate   take rate
 for awards by dividing the total number of awards paid by the
total number of offers made during the three award years immediately
preceding the 2015-16 award year.
   (iii) Estimate the number of award offers that the commission may
make to achieve the target for awards paid by dividing 
50,000   22,500  by the  take-rate
  take rate  estimated pursuant to clause (ii).
   (B) In granting awards under this article for the 2016-17 award
year and subsequent award years, the commission shall do all of the
following:
   (i) Calculate a target for awards to be paid by subtracting the
number of awards paid in the previous award year from the target for
awards paid in the previous award year and adding the result to
 50,000   22,500  .
   (ii) Estimate the  take-rate   take rate
 for awards by dividing the total number of awards paid by the
total number of offers made during the three award years immediately
preceding that award year.
   (iii) Estimate the number of award offers that the commission may
make to achieve the target for awards paid calculated pursuant to
clause (i) by dividing the target by the  take-rate 
 take rate  estimated pursuant to clause (ii).
   (6) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, the
commission may exceed the  50,000   22,500 
award limit in an academic year when the number of acceptances
exceeds  50,000   22,500  , provided that,
in the 2016-17 award year and subsequent award years, the commission
grants awards in accordance with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5).
   (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
50,000 awards authorized by this article.