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SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla (D-Concord) has introduced legislation to provide families fairness and predictability as they plan for college. AB 831, the College Opportunity Act, reverses proposed cuts to the Cal Grant, which is the state’s largest financial aid program. The bill also links Cal Grant award amounts for students attending private, nonprofit institutions to the average cost of educating a Cal Grant student at a four-year public institution.
“Cal Grants give academically deserving students the opportunity to go to college, who otherwise would not be able to attend,” said Assemblywoman Bonilla. “It is imperative that we support our students in order to ensure the success of our state.”
Since 2000, the Cal Grant award amount for students attending private institutions has not been linked to any funding formula, making it vulnerable to cuts, and resulting in a 37% decline in value. Last year, the Governor proposed an additional 11% cut to the Cal Grant for students attending private, nonprofit colleges. Assemblywoman Bonilla led efforts to prevent these proposed cuts, however they were only postponed for a year. The proposed 11% cut will take effect this July if no action is taken.
“Private nonprofit colleges, such as the University of San Diego, Saint Mary’s College, and the University of the Pacific, play a critical role in meeting the state’s demand for higher education,” continued Assemblywoman Bonilla. “Any reduction to the Cal Grant will close off this option for students, placing further strain on public institutions which have limited space and resources.”
Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla (D-Concord) was elected in November 2010 and represents California’s 14th Assembly District, which includes Contra Costa County and Solano County.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
AB 831, as introduced, Bonilla. 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 for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. Existing law specifies the amounts of the maximum Cal Grant A and B awards for students attending private nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions and private for-profit postsecondary educational institutions that are regionally accredited, as specified.
This bill would change, in accordance with a prescribed formula, the maximum Cal Grant awards for students attending private nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions, commencing with the 2015–16 award year. The bill would impose requirements on private nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions to provide specified data to a specified association as a condition for the funding of Cal Grant maximum awards to their students, and would require the association to report on that information to the Legislature, the Governor, the Department of Finance, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The bill would also make conforming changes.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California relies on private nonprofit colleges and universities accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) to help meet the state’s higher education needs.
(b) The maximum award for Cal Grant students attending WASC accredited private nonprofit colleges and universities has not increased since its maximum of $9,708 in 1999:
(1) It was cut by almost 15 percent for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 cohorts.
(2) It was cut by 5 percent for new and renewal students for the 2012–13 award year, and by an additional 1.5 percent in the 2013–14 award year. It is scheduled for an additional cut of 11.3 percent in the 2015–16 award year for new awardees.
(3) If the 2000 Cal Grant maximum award had kept up with the rate of inflation, the 2014 award level would be $13,346.
(4) The proposed maximum award for the 2015–16 award year will be the lowest amount California has invested in academically qualified, low-income students that attend private nonprofit WASC accredited institutions since the 1997–98 academic year.
(c) The Cal Grant Program effectively and successfully helps California’s private nonprofit colleges and universities to recruit, retain, and graduate historically underrepresented students from low-income California families.
(d) Predictable and stable funding formulas and eligibility requirements ensure that the state maximizes its investment by allowing families to better plan and pay for higher education, in addition to incentivizing private nonprofit colleges and universities to enroll more low-income Californians.
(e) Legislative action is needed to adopt a reasonable and viable formula that supports predictability and parity for California students at private nonprofit colleges.
SEC. 2.
Section 66021.2 of the Education Code is amended to read:
66021.2.
Consistent with the state’s historic commitment to provide educational opportunity by ensuring both student access to and selection of an institution of higher education for students with financial need, the long-term policy of the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program established pursuant to Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42 shall be as follows:
(a) Commencing with the 2001–02 academic year and every year thereafter, an applicant for a Cal Grant A or B award shall receive an award that is not in excess of the financial need amount determined by the Student Aid Commission pursuant to Section 69432.9 if he or she complies with all of the following requirements:
(1) Demonstrates financial need under the criteria adopted pursuant to Section 69432.9.
(2) Attains a grade point average, as defined in Section 69432.7, meeting the requirements of Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of Part 42.
(3) Complies with each of the eligibility criteria applicable to the type of Cal Grant award for which he or she is applying.
(b) (1) The maximum Cal Grant A award for a student attending the University of California or the California State University shall equal the mandatory systemwide fees in each of those segments.
(2) The maximum Cal Grant B award for a student to which this subdivision is applicable shall equal the mandatory systemwide fees in the segment attended by the student, except for community college students who receive waivers from the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, plus the access award calculated as specified in Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435) of Chapter 1.7 of Part 42, except that in the first year of enrollment in a qualifying institution, the maximum award shall be only for the amount of the access award.
(c) The maximum Cal Grant awards for students attending nonpublic institutions shall be as follows:
(1) The maximum Cal Grant A award shall equal the tuition award level established in the Budget Act of 2000, or the amount as adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts.
(2) The maximum Cal Grant B award shall equal the amount of the tuition award as established in the Budget Act of 2000, or the amount as adjusted in subsequent annual budget acts, plus the amount of the access costs specified in Section 69435, except that, in the first year of enrollment in a qualifying institution, the maximum award shall be only for the amount of the access award.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), and notwithstanding Section 69432:
(A) The maximum Cal Grant award for a student attending a private nonprofit postsecondary educational institution shall be set and maintained at 75 percent of the base funding per Cal Grant student at the University of California and the California State University, as determined by the average General Fund support per student at the California State University and the University of California, plus the maximum Cal Grant award at those segments each multiplied by the percentage of California resident full-time equivalent students at both segments who attend the respective segment, except as provided in clauses (i) to (iv), inclusive.
(i) For the 2015–16 award year, the maximum award shall be nine thousand eighty-four dollars ($9,084).
(ii) For the 2016–17 award year, the maximum award shall be 70 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(iii) For the 2017–18 award year, the maximum award shall be 80 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(iv) For the 2018–19 award year, the maximum award shall be 90 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(v) For the 2019–20 award year and each year thereafter, the maximum award shall be 100 percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(B) As a condition for the funding of Cal Grant maximum awards to its students pursuant to subparagraph (A), a private nonprofit postsecondary educational institution shall submit performance metrics to the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities. The association, in collaboration with the public segments of higher education, shall determine the form and content of these metrics, to ensure data are defined, collected, and reported in a consistent and comparable manner, and to ensure data integrity. The association shall provide that information in a cumulative report generated by the association to the Legislature, the Governor, the Department of Finance, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office on or before March 15, 2016, and on or before March 15 of each year thereafter. The report shall be submitted to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, and shall include all of the following data with respect to each participating private nonprofit postsecondary educational institution:
(i) The number of undergraduate students enrolled in that institution.
(ii) The percentage of undergraduate students of that institution who are California residents.
(iii) The number of graduate students enrolled in that institution.
(iv) The number of transfer students from the California Community Colleges enrolled in that institution.
(v) The percentage of undergraduate students of that institution who are transfer students from the California Community Colleges.
(vi) The number of Pell Grant recipients enrolled in that institution.
(vii) The percentage of undergraduate students of that institution who are Pell Grant recipients.
(viii) The number of Cal Grant recipients enrolled in that institution. With respect to those Cal Grant recipients:
(I) Their ethnic composition, expressed in percentages.
(II) The median amount of institutional aid provided to them.
(ix) The percentage of undergraduate students of that institution who are Cal Grant recipients.
(x) The four- and six-year graduation rates for freshman entrants of that institution:
(I) Disaggregated by Pell Grant recipients.
(II) Disaggregated by Cal Grant recipients.
(xi) The two- and three-year graduation rates for transfer students from the California Community Colleges:
(I) Disaggregated by Pell Grant recipients.
(II) Disaggregated by Cal Grant recipients.
(xii) The number of degrees awarded annually by the institution in total and in each of the following categories:
(I) Undergraduate students who first enrolled in the institution as freshmen.
(II) Undergraduate students who first enrolled in the institution as transfer students.
(III) Graduate students.
(IV) Pell Grant recipients.
(V) The number of degrees or credentials awarded in health-related fields, teacher preparation, and the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
(C) The collection, reporting, and housing of data for the report prepared pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be conducted both in a manner that ensures data integrity and security and that is in conformance with any federal and state laws on the confidentiality of student information.
(d) Commencing with the 2000–01 academic year, and each academic year thereafter, the Cal Grant C award shall be utilized only for occupational or technical training.
(e) Commencing with the 2000–01 academic year, and each academic year thereafter, the Cal Grant T award shall be used only for one academic year of full-time attendance in a program of professional preparation that has been approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(f) An institution of higher education in this state that participates in the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program shall not reduce its level of per capita need-based institutional financial aid to undergraduate students, excluding loans, below the total level awarded in the 2000–01 academic year.
(g) The implementation of the policy set forth in this section shall maintain a balance between the state’s policy goals of ensuring student access to and selection of an institution of higher education for students with financial need and academic merit.
(h) It is the policy of the State of California that the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program supplement the federal Pell Grant program.
(i) An award under the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program shall not guarantee admission to an institution of higher education or admission to a specific campus or program.
SEC. 3.
Section 69432 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69432.
(a) Cal Grant Program awards shall be known as “Cal Grant A Entitlement Awards,” “Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards,” “California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards,” “Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards,” “Cal Grant C Awards,” and “Cal Grant T Awards.”
(b) Maximum award amounts for students at independent institutions and for Cal Grant C and T awards shall be identified in the annual Budget Act. Maximum award amounts for Cal Grant A and B awards for students attending public institutions shall be referenced in the annual Budget Act.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), and subdivision (c) of Section 66021.2, commencing with the 2013–14 award year, the maximum tuition award amounts for Cal Grant A and B awards for students attending private for-profit and nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions shall be as follows:
(A) Four thousand dollars ($4,000) for new recipients attending private for-profit postsecondary educational institutions.
(B) For the 2014–15 award year, nine thousand eighty-four dollars ($9,084) for new recipients attending private nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions. For the 2015–16 award year and each award year thereafter, eight thousand fifty-six dollars ($8,056) for new recipients attending private nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions. the amount determined pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 66021.2.
(2) The renewal award amount for a student whose initial award is subject to a maximum award amount specified in this subdivision shall be calculated pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 69433.
(3) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), commencing with the 2015–16 award year, the maximum tuition award amount for new recipients attending private for-profit postsecondary educational institutions that are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as of July 1, 2012, shall have the same maximum tuition award amounts as are set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1). be eight thousand fifty-six dollars ($8,056).
SEC. 4.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to set the amounts of Cal Grant awards for students who are attending private nonprofit postsecondary educational institutions before the commencement of the 2015–16 award year, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
