Bill Text: CA AB1671 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1671 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: California Ban on Scholarship Displacement for Foster Youth Act of 2022.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-22 - Ordered to inactive file at the request of Assembly Member Patterson. [AB1671 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1671-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate June 02, 2022

Amended IN Assembly March 16, 2022

Amended IN Assembly March 02, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1671

Introduced by Assembly Member Patterson

January 19, 2022

An act to add Article 22.5 (commencing with Section 70026) to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1671, as amended, Patterson. California Ban on Scholarship Displacement for Foster Youth Act of 2022.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in the state.

This bill would enact the California Ban on Scholarship Displacement for Foster Youth Act of 2022, which would prohibit each public and private institution of higher education in the state that receives, or benefits from, state-funded financial assistance, or that enrolls students who receive state-funded student financial assistance, from reducing an institution-based ~~financial~~ gift aid offer below the financial need of a student who is a foster youth or former foster youth, a resident of California, enrolled in an institution of higher education to obtain an undergraduate degree, and eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant award or financial assistance under the California Dream Act, except as specified. The bill would make its provisions severable.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Article 22.5 (commencing with Section 70026) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

Article 22.5. California Ban on Scholarship Displacement for Foster Youth Act of 2022

70026.

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Ban on Scholarship Displacement for Foster Youth Act of 2022.

70026.5.

As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:

(a) An “academic year” is July 1 to June 30, inclusive. The start date of a session shall determine the academic year in which it is included.

(b) “Cost of attendance” means the student’s tuition and fees, books and supplies, living expenses, transportation expenses, and any other student expenses used to calculate a student’s financial need for purposes of student aid programs under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070 et seq.).

(c) “Expected family contribution” means a student’s expected family contribution calculated according to 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.).

(d) (1) “Financial need” means, as used in subdivision (a) of Section 70027, the cost of attendance minus the expected family contribution.

(2) “Financial need” means, as used in subdivision (b) of Section 70027, the cost of attendance minus the student aid index.

(e) “Foster youth or former foster youth” means a person in California whose dependency was established or continued by a court of competent jurisdiction, including a tribal court, on or after the person’s 13th birthday and who is no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of the academic year.

(f) “Gift aid” means all financial aid designated for the student’s educational expenses, including a grant, scholarship, tuition waiver, fellowship stipend, or other third-party payment, that is not a loan or pursuant to a work study program.

(g) “Institutional ~~financial~~ gift aid” means ~~financial~~ gift aid that is paid for by the institution of higher education from its funds and the recipient of the aid is selected by the institution.

(h) “Institution of higher education” or “institution” means any public or private postsecondary educational institution in the state that receives, or benefits from, state-funded financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state-funded student financial assistance.

(i) “Private scholarship” means financial assistance awarded to students based on one or more factors, including, but not limited to, academic merit, talent, or a particular area of study, by a private company, foundation, or nonprofit organization, or a public charity or service group.

(j) “Scholarship displacement” means the reduction of institutional ~~financial~~ gift aid due to private scholarship awards.

(k) “Student” means any foster youth or former foster youth who is a California resident and who enrolls in any institution of higher education to obtain an undergraduate degree.

(l) “Student Aid Index” means, with respect to a student, an index that reflects an evaluation of a student’s approximate financial resources to contribute toward the student’s postsecondary education expenses for the academic year.

70027.

(a) Commencing with the 2023–24 academic year, an institution of higher education shall not reduce the institutional ~~financial~~ gift aid offer of a student who is eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant award or financial assistance under the California Dream Act for an academic year as a result of private scholarship awards designated for the student unless the student’s gift aid exceeds the student’s annual cost of attendance.

(b) The institution may reduce the institutional ~~financial~~ gift aid offer of a student who is eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant award or financial assistance under the California Dream Act by no more than the amount of the student’s gift aid that exceeds the student’s annual cost of attendance.

(c) The institution shall not consider receipt or anticipated receipt of private scholarships when considering a student who is eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant award or financial assistance under the California Dream Act for qualification for institutional ~~financial~~ gift aid.

(d) To ensure ~~financial~~ gift aid is maximized, an institution is encouraged to implement efforts to avoid scholarship displacement through consultation with scholarship providers and students to avoid situations where institutional ~~financial~~ gift aid and private scholarships can only be used for specific purposes.

(e) This article shall not be interpreted or implemented in a manner inconsistent with state or federal law. The provisions of this article are severable. If any provision of this article or its application is held invalid due to a conflict with federal requirements, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.