Cal Grant Program: student default risk index score.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program (Cal Grant Program) , establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. Existing law requires the commission to certify by October 1 of each year a qualifying institution's latest 3-year cohort default rate as most recently reported by the United States Department of Education and makes an otherwise qualifying institution ineligible for initial or renewal Cal Grant awards if the institution's 3-year cohort default rate is equal to or greater than a specified threshold. This bill would instead require qualifying institutions to calculate, as specified, and certify to the commission its student default risk index score by October 1 of each year. For purposes of the 2013–14 academic year, the bill would require the commission to determine the student default risk index score for each qualifying institution by January 31, 2013, as specified. The bill would make an otherwise qualifying institution ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards if the institution's student default risk index score exceeds a specified threshold.