For the second consecutive year, a major overhaul to California’s main financial aid program is being proposed by lawmakers who say the current system is overly complex and excludes too many students from getting aid.
among lawmakers, student leaders, college leaders and college access advocates, who see the bill as a move toward equity. They are hoping Newsom will signal his support for the bill when he introduces his May budget revision, which he plans to release Friday.
To simplify the Cal Grant program, AB 1746 would consolidate the existing Cal Grant awards into just two separate grants: the Cal Grant 2 and the Cal Grant 4. The Cal Grant 2 would be for community college students, while students attending four-year universities would be eligible for the Cal Grant 4.
For the Cal Grant 2 award, there would be no GPA requirement. Currently, students need at least a 2.0 GPA to be eligible for a similar award, a requirement that supporters of the bill say is outdated and a significant barrier, especially to older students who often cannot track down their high school transcripts. Even for students who can access their transcripts but earned below a 2.
Prasad added that she met recently with staff from the Department of Finance, the main policy adviser to Newsom, and said there “didn’t seem to be opposition” to AB 1746.Newsom’s January budget proposal didn’t include the main components of AB 1746, but the bill had not been introduced at that point. A spokesman for the Department of Finance didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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