Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program and the California Community College Expanded Entitlement Program.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's changes regarding future tuition award amounts and the removal of certain conditions are based on specific conditions and funding availability, which may vary.

Student Financial Aid: Cal Grant Program Changes

This bill sets the maximum tuition award for new Cal Grant A and B recipients attending independent institutions at $9,358 in the 2024-25 academic year and adjusts future amounts based on acceptance of transfer students with associate degrees. It also removes conditions that previously required extra funding for transferring community college students.

What This Bill Does

• Sets the maximum tuition award for new Cal Grant A and B recipients attending independent institutions at $9,358 in the 2024-25 academic year.
• Adjusts future amounts to either $9,708 or $8,056 starting from the 2026-27 academic year based on acceptance of transfer students with associate degrees for transfer.
• Removes conditions that previously required extra funding for transferring community college students.

Who It Names or Affects

• Students receiving Cal Grant A and B awards who attend independent institutions of higher education.
• Students with California Community College Expanded Entitlement Awards who transfer to other types of schools.

Terms To Know

Cal Grant Program

A financial aid program in California that helps pay for college tuition and fees for eligible students.

Associate Degree for Transfer

An academic degree awarded by community colleges to prepare students for transferring to a four-year university.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill's changes are subject to the availability of funding in future budgets.
• It is not clear how many schools will meet the targets for accepting transfer students with associate degrees.

Official Summary Text

AB 402, as amended, Patel.
Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program and the California Community College Expanded Entitlement Program.
(1) Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, provides awards to certain California postsecondary students to help pay the costs of postsecondary education. Existing law sets the maximum Cal Grant A and B tuition award amount for new recipients in the 2023–24 award year at $9,358 for students attending independent institutions of higher education. Existing law authorizes community colleges to award an associate degree for transfer, and provides that the Cal Grant A and B tuition award amount for future years for students attending independent institutions of higher education depends on the number of commitments those institutions make to accept associate degrees for transfer. Beginning with the 2024–25 award year, existing law sets the maximum tuition award amount for new Cal Grant A and B recipients at either $9,358 or $8,056,
depending upon whether the number of new unduplicated transfer students accepted by those institutions who have been given associate degree for transfer commitments in the prior award year exceeds statutory targets.
This bill would
set the 2024–25 award year amount for new Cal Grant A and B recipients attending an independent institution of higher education at $9,358. Beginning
set, beginning
with the
2025–26
2026–27
award year,
the bill would set
and subject to an appropriation for this purpose,
the maximum tuition award amount for new Cal Grant A and B recipients at either $9,708 or $8,056, with the higher amount conditioned on the achievement of the target numbers for associate degree for transfer commitments that apply for the prior award year.
(2) Existing law establishes a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award for students who were not awarded a Cal Grant A or B award at the time of the student’s high school graduation but who will be enrolled at a California community college during the award year and meet other criteria. Existing law authorizes a student who receives a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award to subsequently transfer to a University of California or California State University campus and remain eligible to receive the award. Existing law also authorizes a student who receives a California
Community College Expanded Entitlement Award and who subsequently transfers to an independent institution of higher education to remain eligible to receive the award, but only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if funding is provided in the annual Budget Act to implement the Cal Grant Reform Act.
This bill would instead authorize a student who receives a California Community College Expanded Entitlement Award and who subsequently transfers to an independent institution of higher education to remain eligible to receive the award without the above-described conditions.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF