Bill Text: CA AB2456 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Cal Grant Program: student eligibility: summer term.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-19 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2456 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2456-Amended.html
he or she is they are a California resident, in attendance, and making satisfactory academic progress at a qualifying institution, as determined by the commission.
Bill Title: Cal Grant Program: student eligibility: summer term.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-19 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2456 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2456-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 18, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 24, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2456
| Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty |
February 17, 2022 |
An act to amend Section 69432.7 Sections 69432.7 and 69433.5 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2456, as amended, McCarty.
Cal Grant Program: student eligibility. eligibility: summer term.
Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program (Cal Grant Program), establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Expanded Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B 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, as defined. Existing law, for purposes of the Cal Grant Program, defines “full time” to mean 12 or more semester units or the equivalent and defines “part time” to mean 6 to 11 semester units, inclusive, or the equivalent. Existing law prohibits the aggregate
amount students may receive in a 4-year period from being increased as a result of accelerating progress to a degree by attending summer terms, sessions, or quarters.
For purposes of the Cal Grant Program, this bill would instead define, except for a community college student, “part time” to mean 12 to 29 semester units, inclusive, or the equivalent taken in an award year when 6 or more semester units or the equivalent are taken each semester or the equivalent. The bill would define, except for a community college student, “full time” to mean 12 or more semester units or the equivalent taken in a semester for initial Cal Grant eligibility until the start of the 2023–24 award year and for renewal of Cal Grant eligibility until the start of the 2026–27 award year. The bill would define, except for a community college student, “full time” to mean 30 or more semester units or the equivalent taken in an academic year for initial Cal Grant
eligibility commencing with the start of the 2023–24 award year, for subsequent renewals of that eligibility for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 award years, and for all renewals of Cal Grant eligibility commencing with the start of the 2026–27 award year.
The bill would specify that, for purposes of meeting the 30 or more semester units or the equivalent requirement, units taken during the summer term may be included. The bill would delete the provision that prohibits increasing the aggregate amount students may receive as a result of accelerating progress to a degree by attending summer terms, sessions, or quarters.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 69432.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:69432.7.
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) An “academic year” is July 1 to June 30, inclusive. The starting date of a session shall determine the academic year in which it is included.
(b) “Access costs” means living expenses and expenses for transportation, supplies, technology, and books.
(c) “Award year” means one academic year, or the equivalent, of attendance at a qualifying institution.
(d) “College grade point average” and “community college grade point average” mean a grade point
average calculated on the basis of all college work completed, except for nontransferable units and courses not counted in the computation for admission to a California public institution of higher education that grants a baccalaureate degree.
(e) “Commission” means the Student Aid Commission.
(f) “Enrollment status” means part- or full-time status.
(1) “Part time,” for purposes of determining Cal Grant eligibility, means 12 to 29 semester units, inclusive, or the
equivalent, taken in an award year, when 6 or more semester units or the equivalent are taken each semester or the equivalent.
(2) “Full time,” for purposes of determining Cal Grant eligibility, means the following:
(A) 12 or more semester units or the equivalent taken in a semester or the equivalent for purposes of determining the following:
(i) Initial Cal Grant eligibility until the start of the 2023–24 award year.
(ii) Renewal of Cal Grant eligibility until the start of the 2026–27 award year, except as provided in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B).
(B) 30 or more semester
units or the equivalent taken in an academic year for purposes of determining the following:
(i) Initial Cal Grant eligibility commencing with the start of the 2023–24 award year.
(ii) Renewal of Cal Grant eligibility described in clause (i) for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 award years.
(iii) All renewals of Cal Grant eligibility commencing with the start of the 2026–27 award year.
(C) Notwithstanding subdivision (f) of Section 69433.5, units taken during the summer term may be included for purposes of meeting the definition of full time pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for purposes of determining Cal Grant eligibility of a student attending a California community college, the following definitions of “part time” and “full time” apply:
(A) “Part time” means 6 to 11 semester units, inclusive, or the equivalent, in a semester or the equivalent.
(B) “Full time” means 12 or more semester units units, or the equivalent, in a semester or the equivalent.
(g) “Expected family contribution,” with respect to an applicant, shall
be determined using the federal methodology pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 69506 (as established by Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070 et seq.)) and applicable rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(h) “High school grade point average” means a grade point average calculated on a 4.0 scale, using all academic coursework, for the sophomore year, the summer following the sophomore year, the junior year, and the summer following the junior year, excluding physical education, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), and remedial courses, and computed pursuant to regulations of the commission. However, for high school graduates who apply after their senior year, “high school grade point average” includes senior year coursework.
(i) “Instructional program of not less than one academic year” means a program of study that results in the award of an associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate requiring at least 24 semester units or the equivalent, or that results in eligibility for transfer from a community college to a baccalaureate degree program.
(j) “Instructional program of not less than two academic years” means a program of study that results in the award of an associate or baccalaureate degree requiring at least 48 semester units or the equivalent, or that results in eligibility for transfer from a community college to a baccalaureate degree program.
(k) (1) “Maximum household income and asset levels” means the applicable household income and household asset levels for participants,
including new applicants and renewing recipients, in the Cal Grant Program, as defined and adopted in regulations by the commission for the 2001–02 academic year, which shall be set pursuant to the following income and asset ceiling amounts:
CAL GRANT PROGRAM INCOME CEILINGS |
Cal Grant A, C, and T | Cal Grant B | |
Dependent and Independent students with dependents* | ||
Family Size | ||
Six or more | $74,100 | $40,700 |
Five | $68,700 | $37,700 |
Four | $64,100 | $33,700 |
Three | $59,000 | $30,300 |
Two | $57,600 | $26,900 |
Independent | ||
Single,
no dependents | $23,500 | $23,500 |
Married | $26,900 | $26,900 |
*Applies to independent students with
dependents other than a
spouse.
spouse.
CAL GRANT PROGRAM ASSET CEILINGS |
Cal Grant A, C, and T | Cal Grant B | |
Dependent** _____ _____ | $49,600 | $49,600 |
Independent
_____
_____
| $23,600 | $23,600 |
**Applies to independent students with dependents other than a
spouse.
spouse.
(2) The commission shall annually adjust the maximum household income and asset levels based on the percentage change in the cost of living within the meaning of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 8 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. The maximum household income and asset levels applicable to a renewing recipient shall be the greater of the adjusted maximum household income and asset
levels or the maximum household income and asset levels at the time of the renewing recipient’s initial Cal Grant award. For a recipient who was initially awarded a Cal Grant for an academic year before the 2011–12 academic year, the maximum household income and asset levels shall be the greater of the adjusted maximum household income and asset levels or the 2010–11 academic year maximum household income and asset levels. An applicant or renewal recipient who qualifies to be considered under the simplified needs test established by federal law for student assistance shall be presumed to meet the asset level test under this section. Before disbursing any Cal Grant funds, a qualifying institution shall be obligated, under the terms of its institutional participation agreement with the commission, to resolve any conflicts that may exist in the data the institution possesses relating to that
individual.
(l) (1) “Qualifying institution” means an institution that complies with paragraphs (2) and (3) and is any of the following:
(A) A California private or independent postsecondary educational institution that participates in the Federal Pell Grant Program and in at least two of the following federal student aid programs:
(i) Federal Work-Study Program.
(ii) Federal Stafford Loan Program.
(iii) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program.
(B) A nonprofit institution headquartered and
operating in California that certifies to the commission that 10 percent of the institution’s operating budget, as demonstrated in an audited
financial statement, is expended for purposes of institutionally funded student financial aid in the form of grants, that demonstrates to the commission that it has the administrative capacity to administer the funds, that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and that meets any other state-required criteria adopted by regulation by the commission in consultation with the Department of Finance. A regionally accredited institution that was deemed qualified by the commission to participate in the Cal Grant Program for the 2000–01 academic year shall retain its eligibility as long as it maintains its existing accreditation status.
(C) A California public postsecondary educational institution.
(2) (A) The institution shall provide
information on where to access California license examination passage rates for the most recent available year from graduates of its undergraduate programs leading to employment for which passage of a California licensing examination is required, if that data is electronically available through the internet website of a California licensing or regulatory agency. For purposes of this paragraph, “provide” may exclusively include placement of an internet website address labeled as an access point for the data on the passage rates of recent program graduates on the internet website where enrollment information is also located, on an internet website that provides centralized admissions information for postsecondary educational systems with multiple campuses, or on applications for enrollment or other program information distributed to prospective students.
(B) The institution shall be responsible for certifying to the commission compliance with the requirements of subparagraph (A).
(3) (A) The commission shall certify by November 1 of each year the institution’s latest official three-year cohort default rate and graduation rate as most recently reported by the United States Department of Education. For purposes of this section, the graduation rate is the percentage of full-time, first-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students who graduate in 150 percent or less of the expected time to complete degree requirements as most recently reported publicly in any format, including preliminary data records, by the United States Department of Education.
(B) For purposes of the 2011–12 academic
year, an otherwise qualifying institution with a three-year cohort default rate reported by the United States Department of Education that is equal to or greater than 24.6 percent shall be ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution.
(C) For purposes of the 2012–13 academic year, and every academic year thereafter, an otherwise qualifying institution with a three-year cohort default rate that is equal to or greater than 15.5 percent, as certified by the commission on October 1, 2011, and every year thereafter, shall be ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution.
(D) (i) An otherwise qualifying institution that becomes ineligible under this paragraph for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards shall regain
its eligibility for the academic year for which it satisfies the requirements established in subparagraph (B), (C), or (F), as applicable.
(ii) If the United States Department of Education corrects or revises an institution’s three-year cohort default rate or graduation rate that originally failed to satisfy the requirements established in subparagraph (B), (C), or (F), as applicable, and the correction or revision results in the institution’s three-year cohort default rate or graduation rate satisfying those requirements, that institution shall immediately regain its eligibility for the academic year to which the corrected or revised three-year cohort default rate or graduation rate would have been applied.
(E) An otherwise qualifying institution for which no three-year cohort
default rate or graduation rate has been reported by the United States Department of Education shall be provisionally eligible to participate in the Cal Grant Program until a three-year cohort default rate or graduation rate has been reported for the institution by the United States Department of Education.
(F) For purposes of the 2012–13 academic year, and every academic year thereafter, an otherwise qualifying institution with a graduation rate of 30 percent or less, as certified by the commission pursuant to subparagraph (A), shall be ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution, except as provided for in subparagraph (H).
(G) Notwithstanding any other law, the requirements of this paragraph shall not apply to institutions with 40 percent or less of undergraduate
students borrowing federal student loans, using information reported to the United States Department of Education for the academic year two years before the academic year in which the commission is certifying the three-year cohort default rate or graduation rate pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(H) Notwithstanding subparagraph (F), an otherwise qualifying institution that maintains a three-year cohort default rate that is less than 15.5 percent and a graduation rate above 20 percent for
students taking 150 percent or less of the expected time to complete degree requirements, as certified by the commission pursuant to subparagraph (A), shall be eligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution through the 2016–17 academic year.
(I) The commission shall do all of the following:
(i) Notify initial Cal Grant recipients seeking to attend, or attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards under subparagraph (C) or (F) that the institution is ineligible for initial Cal Grant awards for the academic year for which the student received an initial Cal Grant award.
(ii) Notify renewal Cal Grant recipients attending an institution that is ineligible
for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution under subparagraph (C) or (F) that the student’s Cal Grant award will be reduced by 20 percent, or eliminated, as appropriate, if the student attends the ineligible institution in an academic year in which the institution is ineligible.
(iii) Provide initial and renewal Cal Grant recipients seeking to attend, or attending, an institution that is ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution under subparagraph (C) or (F) with a complete list of all California postsecondary educational institutions at which the student would be eligible to receive an unreduced Cal Grant award.
(iv) (I) Establish an appeal process for an otherwise qualifying institution that fails to satisfy the
three-year cohort default rate and graduation rate requirements in subparagraphs (C) and (F), respectively.
(II) The commission may grant an appeal for an academic year only if the commission has determined the institution has a cohort size of 20 individuals or less and the cohort is not representative of the overall institutional performance.
(m) “Satisfactory academic progress” means those criteria required by applicable federal standards published in Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The commission may adopt regulations defining “satisfactory academic progress” in a manner that is consistent with those federal standards. The regulations adopted by the commission under this subdivision shall, to the extent consistent with applicable federal standards, provide that homelessness,
as defined as a “homeless individual” within the meaning of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11302(a)), or as defined as a “homeless child or youth,” as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), is an extenuating circumstance for students who are otherwise unable to meet the requirements deemed to constitute “satisfactory academic progress” at the institution they attend, and that extenuating circumstance may be considered by the institution to alter or excuse compliance with those progress requirements.
SEC. 2.
Section 69433.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:69433.5.
(a) Only a resident of California, as determined by the commission pursuant to Part 41 (commencing with Section 68000), is eligible for an initial Cal Grant award. The recipient shall remain eligible for award renewal only if(b) A part-time student shall not be discriminated against in the selection of Cal Grant Program award recipients, and an award to a part-time student shall be approximately proportional
to the time the student spends in the instructional program, as determined by the commission. A first-time Cal Grant Program award recipient who is a part-time student shall be eligible for a full-time renewal award if he or she becomes they become a full-time student.
(c) Cal Grant Program awards shall be awarded without regard to race, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or age.
(d) An applicant shall not receive more than one type of Cal Grant Program award concurrently. An applicant shall not:
(1) Receive one or a combination of Cal Grant Program awards in excess of the amount
equivalent to the award level for a total of four years of full-time attendance in an undergraduate program, except as provided in Section 69433.6.
(2) Have obtained a baccalaureate degree before receiving a Cal Grant Program award.
(e) A Cal Grant Program award, except as provided in Section 69440, may only be used for educational expenses of a program of study leading directly to an undergraduate degree or certificate, or for expenses of undergraduate coursework in a program of study leading directly to a first professional degree, but for which no baccalaureate degree is awarded.
(f) The commission shall, for students who accelerate college attendance, increase the amount of award proportional to the period of additional attendance resulting from attendance in classes that fulfill requirements or electives for
graduation during summer terms, sessions, or quarters. In the aggregate, the total amount a
student may receive in a four-year period may not be increased as a result of accelerating his or her progress to a degree by attending summer terms, sessions, or quarters.
(g) The commission shall notify Cal Grant award recipients of the availability of funding for the summer term, session, or quarter through prominent notice in financial aid award letters, materials, guides, electronic information, and other means that may include, but not necessarily be limited to, surveys, newspaper articles, or attachments to communications from the commission and any other published documents.
(h) The commission may require, by the adoption of rules and regulations, the production of reports, accounting, documents, or other necessary statements from the award recipient and the college or university of attendance pertaining to the use or application of the award.
(i) A Cal Grant Program award may be utilized used only at a qualifying institution.
(j) A recipient who initially qualified for both a Cal Grant A award and a Cal Grant B award, and received a Cal Grant B award, may be awarded a renewal Cal Grant A award if that recipient subsequently became ineligible for a renewal Cal Grant B award and meets the applicable Cal Grant A financial need and income and asset criteria.
