Bill Text: CA AB200 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

---

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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB200 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB200-Introduced.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 200	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Alejo and Jones-Sawyer
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

                        JANUARY 29, 2015

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


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 200, as introduced, Alejo. 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. Among other things, the program requires that a total
of 22,500 Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards be granted annually.
   This bill would instead require that an unspecified total number
of Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards be granted for the 2016-17
and 2017-18 academic years and that 100,000 be granted for the
2018-19 academic year and each academic year thereafter. The bill
would also make conforming changes and delete an obsolete provision.

   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)  A total of 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).  The
total number of awards granted annually under this article shall be
22,500 for the 2015-16 academic year, ____ for the 2016-17 academic
year, ____ for the 2017-18 academic year, and 100,000 for the 2018-19
academic year and each academic year thereafter. 
   (1) 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.
   (2) 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.
   (3) 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   the
applicable  annual cumulative total of  22,500 awards.
  awards specified in this subdivision. 
   (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
  both  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) 
    (   A)  Students pursuing Cal Grant B awards
who reestablish their grade point averages. 
   (C) 
    (   B)  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,   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   used
 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   An
 award so held in reserve shall only be counted once toward the
 22,500   number of  awards authorized by
 this article.   subdivision (b) of Section
69437.