What’s California doing to make college more affordable?

College affordability advocates in California are pushing for changes to improve access to money for school amid efforts to remake the federal financial aid system, along with fears about how the Trump administration could use student data.

The California Student Aid Commission, which runs the state’s financial aid system, is sponsoring four bills to make it easier for students to get grants, loans, scholarships and work study opportunities. They also aim to mitigate the effect of ongoing issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Alex Zucco, the state and federal policy manager at the agency, co-drafted the bills, then teamed up with state lawmakers to introduce them.

Here’s a rundown of the proposed legislation:

• AB 313: This bill would grant the California Student Aid Commission the authority to extend the deadline to apply for financial aid if the FAFSA is released later than expected. That’s been the case for two years, Zucco noted. When the FAFSA is released later than usual, she added, “there's a lot of negotiation that has to happen behind the scenes.”

  To extend the deadline, advocates have to figure out: “Who's going to introduce it? Do we do it legislatively? Do we do it administratively? Does the governor do it?” Meanwhile, students and families are left in limbo. “This is something that would save us time and energy,” Zucco said.
  

• SB 305: This bill would require community college students to apply for financial aid, or formally opt out. Students could fulfill this requirement by completing the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application, which historically has been geared toward undocumented students. “We've found that about half a million [California] community college students aren't seeking financial aid, and that is leaving so much money on the table,” Zucco said.
  

• SB 323: This bill would make the Dream Act Application officially available to any Californian. In recent years, FAFSA glitches made it difficult for students with undocumented family members to complete a FAFSA. Students in mixed-status families also expressed concerns about how the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency might use their data. In response, the state opened up the application to students in mixed-status families, to ensure they don’t miss out on state-based financial aid.

  Zucco underscored that if students complete the Dream Act Application and then decide it’s safe to complete the FAFSA, they can do so. “We can match up those applications on the back end, and you would still still get [federal financial aid, including Pell Grants,” she said. Completing the Dream Act Application, Zucco added, “just gets you to the on-ramp to get the Cal Grant and institutional aid.”
  

• SB 416: This bill would create a work group to examine financial aid offer letters. Currently, campuses use dozens of terms to describe loans, which can confuse students tasked with making huge decisions about their academic and financial futures.

  “Imagine if neither of your parents went to college, and you're looking at all these papers thinking: ‘What's the best deal?’” Zucco said. The work group, she added, would be tasked with creating a template, using language that’s easy to understand. Then, every college that receives Cal Grant funds would be obligated to use it when making financial aid offers to prospective students.

“I know there's a lot of conversation about what's happening at the federal level, but here in California, we're really focused on making sure our students are equipped with all the tools and resources they need to succeed,” said Shelveen Ratnam, a Student Aid Commission spokesperson.

As of Thursday, AB 313 has cleared the Assembly and is waiting in the Senate to be referred. The three Senate bills have been placed in the Senate’s suspense file. (Any bill with a price tag over $150,000 has to go there for additional review.) In late May, lawmakers will determine which bills go to a vote.