(1) California’s student financial aid application process is overly complex and burdensome to students and families.
(2) Many eligible students do not complete a financial aid form because they believe they are ineligible, have no information on how to apply, think that the forms are too much
work, or do not want to share personal information because of deportation fears.
(3) While the financial aid system is intended to make college “access and affordability a guarantee to every qualified student,” California currently ranks 30th in the nation in application rates. As a result, California’s students leave, on average, five hundred fifty million dollars ($550,000,000) in federal and state financial aid on the table.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation, to be known as the Financial Aid Integration Act, that will accomplish all of the following:
(1) Allow California to maximize the number of its students who apply for and receive federal and state financial aid without creating an undue burden that prevents some students from graduating.
(2) Establish a coordinated completion campaign for all existing statewide efforts to increase financial aid application completion rates, which include, but are not limited to, all of the following: the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP), the 2019–20 “Race to Submit,” Assembly Bill 2015 (Chapter 533 of the Statutes of 2018) implementation, the Cash for College Program workshops, automatic grade point average (GPA) verification for all grade 12 pupils, Assembly Bill 2160 (Chapter 679 of the Statutes of 2014), and outreach to increase enrollment in the California College Promise Innovation Grant Program.
(3) Give local educational agencies discretion on how to coordinate and assist families and students in the completion of financial aid applications.
(4) Give students the freedom to choose the
pathway that is best for them after high school, whether that be postsecondary education or pursuing an occupational or technical program.
(5) Help California close the 1,100,000 degree gap so that California has the skilled workers necessary to be competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s economy.