AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Assembly Member Caloza

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Sharp-Collins)

February 20, 2026

An act to add Section 69509.8 to the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in the state. Existing law establishes various programs that provide financial aid to students attending institutions in each of the segments.

This bill would, commencing with the 2027–28 academic year, require the California State University, community college districts, and private postsecondary educational institutions and independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance to, and would request the University of California to, for a student whose financial aid award is delayed due to factors that are outside of the student’s control, extend specified enrollment and financial deadlines and refrain from imposing punitive actions, as defined. The bill would authorize those institutions to require documentation relating to those delays under certain conditions. By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 69509.8 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 69509.6, to read:

69509.8.

(a) Commencing with the 2027–28 academic year, the California State University, each community college district, and private postsecondary educational institutions and independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance shall, and the University of California is requested to, for a student whose financial aid award is delayed due to factors that are outside of the student’s control, do all of the following:

(1) Extend enrollment deadlines that may result in a student receiving a hold or being dropped from a class through the end of the academic term in which the delay occurs or until the funds are received. Once the funds are received, the extension of enrollment deadlines ceases.

(2) Extend financial deadlines for all required payments related to enrollment fees and costs through the end of the academic term in which the delay occurs if deemed necessary by the institution. The deadline extension applies only to the amount of financial aid award that has been delayed.

(3) Refrain from imposing punitive actions.

(b) The University of California, the California State University, each community college district, and private postsecondary educational institutions and independent institutions of higher education that receive state financial assistance may do either or both of the following:

(1) Require documentation for students to verify delays in funding from private scholarships, grants, and loans.

(2) If a financial aid award is delayed due to factors that are outside of the student’s control beyond the term in which the delay occurred, require documentation for the student to renew enrollment and the financial aid award while the delay continues.

(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Factors outside of a student’s control” include, but are not limited to, means all of the following:

(A) Delays in the processing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act Application. application.

(B) Delays in the disbursement of awards under the Cal Grant Program, the Middle Class Scholarship Program, or the federal Pell Grant program.

(C) Delays in scholarship funding from postsecondary educational institutions.

(D) Processing errors or delays by the postsecondary educational institution’s financial aid office.

(E) Delays in federal loan disbursements.

(F) Institutional, state, or federal backlogs.

(2) “Financial aid award” includes, but is not limited to, institutional, state, and federal aid sources.

(3) “Punitive action” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Restricting a student from future enrollment.

(B) Charging late fees or interest.

(C) Imposing administrative or registration holds on an academic transcript.

SEC. 2.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.