Bill > A3422

Introduced Session

This bill removes expected family contribution from the calculation of student financial need and provides that independent institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees may only reduce a student's institutional financial aid under certain circumstances. This bill requires institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees to include a statement that the acceptance of one or more external scholarships will not affect a student's eligibility for any other grants or scholarships provided that the student's total financial aid does not exceed a student's financial need. Current law authorizes a public institution of higher education to reduce a student's institutional financial aid as a result of the awarding of an external scholarship to the student only under certain circumstances. If a student's total financial aid from all sources exceeds the student's financial need, defined as cost of attendance minus expected family contribution, a public institution may reduce the student's institutional financial aid until the student's total financial aid no longer exceeds the student's financial need. This bill would remove expected family contribution from the calculation of financial need. This bill also revises current law to require public institutions of higher education to return excess scholarship funds to the organization that awarded the scholarship and to require the institution to obtain approval from the organization that awarded the scholarship before reducing a student's financial aid award. Similar to current law governing financial aid for public institutions of higher education, this bill also authorizes independent institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees to reduce a student's institutional financial aid as a result of the awarding of external scholarships to the student only under certain circumstances. The bill provides that, if a student's total financial aid from all sources exceeds the student's financial need, independent institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees may reduce the student's institutional financial aid until the student's total financial aid no longer exceeds the student's financial need if the institution returns the excess funds to, and receives permission from, the organization that awarded the scholarship. Further, independent institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees may reduce a student athlete's institutional financial aid in order to comply with the individual or team financial aid restrictions of any athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics including, but not limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Finally, the bill requires the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education to post information about the institutional financial aid requirements applicable to institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions on its website and to engage in efforts to increase public awareness of these requirements. Pursuant to the bill, the secretary is also required to annually collect data on financial aid recipients who are receiving external scholarships. It is the intent of the sponsor that the bill's provisions protect any scholarship not awarded directly by an institution of higher education from causing a reduction in a student's institutional financial aid. Specifically, this bill is to ensure external scholarships supplement federal, State, and institutional aid, not supplant the aid.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Pam Lampitt (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee (on 02/01/2024)

Official Document