Student financial aid: Pay it Forward, Pay it Back Pilot Program: study.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the number of participating students or the exact percentage of income to be paid back by graduates.

Pay it Forward Financial Aid Study

This bill requires a study on the effects of enacting a Pay it Forward, Pay it Back Pilot Program for college students in California.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Student Aid Commission to conduct a study about the potential impacts of implementing a Pay it Forward Financial Aid Program for college students in California.
• The program would allow students to attend Cal State or UC campuses without paying upfront tuition, fees, or room and board.
• Students who join the program would pay back their costs with a part of their income after they graduate and get a job.
• Money paid back by graduates goes into a special fund that helps other students in the future.
• The study must be finished and reported to lawmakers by September 30, 2027.

Who It Names or Affects

• Students who want to attend Cal State or UC campuses without paying upfront costs.
• Colleges and universities that would offer this program starting in the 2028-29 academic year.
• The Student Aid Commission, which will conduct the study.

Terms To Know

Pay it Forward Financial Aid Program

A plan where students can attend college without paying upfront costs and instead pay back a part of their income after graduation.

Student Aid Commission

The main state agency that runs financial aid programs for students in California.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill only requires a study; it does not create the actual program.
• It is unclear how many students will participate or what percentage of income they would pay back.
• The provisions become inactive on September 30, 2030, and are repealed as of January 1, 2031.

Official Summary Text

AB 1241, as amended, Schiavo.
Student financial aid:
Pay-It-Forward Financial Aid
Program.
Pay it Forward, Pay it Back Pilot Program: study.
Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California,
and
the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University,
the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education,
as
2 of
the
4
segments of
public
postsecondary education in the state. 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 all segments of postsecondary education.
This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the
California State University and the University of California,
Legislative Analyst’s Office,
to
establish a Pay-It-Forward Financial Aid Program
conduct a study of the effects of enacting, in future legislation, a Pay it Forward, Pay it Back Pilot Program
that
allows
would allow
students to enroll at a California State University or University of California campus without paying upfront tuition, fees, or room and board, and instead
requiring
would require
participating students to pay, upon graduation or disenrollment and employment, a percentage of their annual adjusted gross income to the state for a number of years, as
determined by the commission. The bill would require those collected payments to be deposited into the Pay-It-Forward Financial Aid Fund, which the bill would establish. The bill would require moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to pay the tuition, fees, and room and board expenses of future participating students. The bill would require, commencing with the 2028–29 academic year, each California State University and University of California campus to offer the program to their students, and would require, commencing with the 2030–31 academic year, the California State University and the University of California to ensure that at least 10,000 students per year participate in the program.
specified. The bill would require the commission to submit a report on the study of the pilot program to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education and the Senate Committee on Education on or before September 30, 2027. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on September 30, 2030, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2031.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF