California Budget Proposal Includes Narrow but Important Cal Grant Fix
The California Governor’s budget proposal includes much to like for higher education. Deepened investments in public colleges and universities, as well as a fund for innovation in higher education, will serve to keep tuitions steady and make it easier for students to transfer and graduate on time. Community college students will benefit from expanded educational planning services and a focus on closing achievement gaps.
The budget plan also includes one narrow but very important improvement to the state Cal Grant program, the largest need-based grant aid program in the nation. Students who become ineligible because their family income rises above Cal Grant thresholds will be able to reenter the program should their income drop again. This modification is very similar to a bill introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva last year (AB 1287), supported by TICAS and every statewide student group.
The Governor acknowledges that college affordability is a “critical outcome,” and there is a broad and growing consensus on the need to strengthen the Cal Grant program so that our lowest income students aren’t left behind. We had hoped the plan would have included more steps to increase the availability of need-based financial aid, which makes college more affordable for low- and truly middle-income students. While the plan points out that Cal Grants and community college fee waivers help to keep college within reach for some low- and middle-income students, many students continue to be left out of those programs, and many of those who receive Cal Grants get awards worth just one-quarter of their original value.
As expected, the budget plan does reflect last summer’s agreement to create a new non-need-based Middle Class Scholarship, with $107 million allocated for 2014-15. We continue to believe that the Legislature should consider improvements to the Middle Class Scholarship program to align it with longstanding state and institutional aid programs and target available dollars to students with at least some financial need.
We look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature to ensure that all of the state’s higher education investments work in tandem to increase college access and success.
