Bill Text: CA SB1358 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1358 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1358-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1358 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Block
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Sections 69433.5 and 69433.6 of the Education
Code, relating to postsecondary education.
student financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1358, as amended, Block. Postsecondary education:
student financial aid. Student financial aid: Cal
Grant Program.
Existing law, the Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A
and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer
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. The program prohibits an
applicant from receiving one or a combination of program awards in
excess of the amount equivalent to the award level for a total of a
4-year period of full-time attendance in an undergraduate program,
except as provided.
This bill would increase this generally applicable maximum for
total Cal Grant awards to an applicant to the award level for a
6-year period of full-time attendance.
Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary
state agency for the administration of state-authorized student
financial aid programs available to students attending segments of
postsecondary education.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would make additional student financial aid options
available for students attending segments of postsecondary education.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. 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 he or she is a California
resident, in attendance, and making satisfactory academic progress at
a qualifying institution, as determined by the commission.
(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 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 six 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 the 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
six-year period may shall 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 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.
SEC. 2. Section 69433.6 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
69433.6. (a) Cal Grant A awards and Cal Grant B awards may be
renewed for a total of the equivalent of four
six years of full-time attendance in an undergraduate program
provided that minimum financial need as defined in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9 continues to exist. Commencing
with the 2001-02 academic year, the total number of years of
eligibility for grants pursuant to this section shall be based on the
student's educational level in his or her course of study as
designated by the institution of attendance when the recipient
initially receives payment for a grant.
(b) (1) Commencing with the 2014-15 academic year, a recipient who
was determined to be ineligible for a renewal award in the 2012-13
or 2013-14 academic year because he or she exceeded the maximum
household income or asset level established by subdivision (k) of
Section 69432.7, or failed to meet the minimum need threshold
established by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9,
shall be eligible to receive a renewal award if the recipient meets
all program eligibility requirements for the program from which he or
she was previously disqualified and the recipient has remaining
renewal award eligibility. For purposes of determining a student's
remaining renewal award eligibility, an academic year during which a
student was ineligible shall reduce his or her renewal award
eligibility by one full-time equivalent year.
(2) Commencing with the 2015-16 academic year, a recipient who is
determined to be ineligible for a renewal award because, during the
immediately preceding academic year, he or she exceeded the maximum
household income or asset level established by subdivision (k) of
Section 69432.7, or failed to meet the minimum need threshold
established by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9,
shall be eligible to receive a renewal award if the recipient meets
all program eligibility requirements for the program from which he or
she was previously disqualified and the recipient has remaining
renewal award eligibility. For purposes of determining a student's
remaining renewal award eligibility, an academic year during which a
student was ineligible shall reduce his or her renewal award
eligibility by one full-time equivalent year.
(c) For a student enrolled in an institutionally prescribed
five-year undergraduate program, Cal Grant A awards and Cal Grant B
awards may be renewed for a total of five years of full-time
attendance, provided that minimum financial need, as defined in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9, continues to
exist.
(d) (1) A Cal Grant Program award recipient who has completed a
baccalaureate degree, and who has been admitted to and is enrolled in
a program of professional teacher preparation at an institution
approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is
eligible for, but not entitled to, renewal of a Cal Grant Program
award for an additional year of full-time attendance, if minimum
financial need, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 69432.9, continues to exist.
(2) Payment for an additional year is limited to only those
courses required for an initial teaching authorization. An award made
under this subdivision may not be used for other courses.
(3) A student's Cal Grant Program renewal eligibility shall not
have lapsed more than 15 months before the payment of an award for
purposes of this subdivision.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would make additional student financial aid
options available for students attending segments of postsecondary
education.
