The bill would award 50,000 eligible students Cal Grants. The current allotment is 22,500. Matthew La Rocque with the Institute for College Access and Success says the supply of Cal Grants doesn’t begin to meet the demand from needy students.
“With just 23 percent of the lowest income students in this state receiving any Cal Grants, this bill would mark an important and long overdue step in the right direction,” says La Rocque.
The fiscal impact on the state hasn’t been determined. Backers of the bill say about 5,000 to 6,000 Cal Grant awards go unclaimed each year.
The bill would allow the number of awards each year to go over 50,000. The overages from one year would then be taken from the next year’s allotment.
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