The California Legislature Agrees: Strengthening Cal Grants is a Top Priority

We commend the California State Legislature for taking another significant step towards improving college affordability by strengthening financial aid for low-income Californians at all types of colleges. The Conference Committee on the Budget agreed earlier this week to increase the number of annually authorized competitive Cal Grants, the grants available to students who do not enroll in college straight after high school, to 38,750 (up from 22,500). It also agreed to increase the size of the Cal Grant B access award, which helps low-income students pay for non-tuition costs, to $1,804 (up from an expected $1,656 in 2015-16), as well as to extend prior legislation that would provide for more increases in future years. The Committee also approved a plan to use Proposition 98 funds to further strengthen financial aid at California’s community colleges in particular, which serve the vast majority of the state’s low-income, Latino, and African-American students. Together, these actions provide a clear mandate for the most effective financial aid investments the state can make to promote access, affordability, and success for students who need help the most.

California needs 2.3 million college graduates beyond current projections by 2025 to remain competitive, so deepening the financial aid investments that make college possible for so many is critical. Yet on key indicators, the state is falling increasingly behind: with only one grant for every seventeen eligible applicants, a competitive Cal Grant applicant could drive to Las Vegas and be more likely to win money for college by gambling than be offered a grant.

The Legislature has spoken loudly and clearly that strengthening competitive Cal Grants and the Cal Grant B access award are priorities for budget spending. We urge the Governor to do the same by approving these actions in the 2015-16 state budget.