Postsecondary education: California DREAM Loan Program.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law authorizes the regents and the trustees to require that mandatory systemwide fees and tuition, among other fees, be paid by students at campuses of the University of California and the California State University, respectively. This bill would establish the California DREAM Loan Program. The bill would provide that, commencing with the 2015–16 academic year, a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University may receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, through the program if the student satisfies specified requirements, including a requirement that the student be exempt from paying nonresident tuition or meet equivalent requirements adopted by the regents. The bill would require the Student Aid Commission, in collaboration with the participating campus, to certify that the student satisfies these requirements. The bill would require the student to affirm in writing that he or she satisfies one of these requirements, and would require the student to authorize the commission to access any information pertinent to certify that the student satisfies these requirements. The bill would require a participating campus to determine the amount of the loan offered to an individual student by the campus, subject to enumerated specifications. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that funds shall be appropriated in the annual Budget Act each fiscal year, commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year, to participating campuses based upon the number of eligible students attending each respective campus who submitted a specified financial aid application during the prior academic year. The bill would require a participating campus to deposit these funds in a DREAM revolving fund established by each campus, subject to specified exceptions. The bill would require each participating campus to contribute its discretionary funds into its DREAM revolving fund so that the sum of the campus' contribution of funds and its share of DREAM loan repayments equals or exceeds 50%, as specified, of all funds in the campus' DREAM revolving fund at the start of each academic year before DREAM loans are awarded for that academic year. The bill would require the California State University and the University of California to annually report to the Legislature as part of their respective annual financial aid reports the dollar amount of each DREAM loan awarded and number of students for whom a DREAM loan was awarded that academic year, and require each participating campus to annually report the total amount of funding in the institution's DREAM revolving fund, the annual amount contributed by the state, and the annual amount contributed by the institution to the institution's DREAM revolving fund, and the annual administrative costs of the DREAM Program at the institution. The bill would require a participating campus to determine a student's eligibility for a DREAM loan, award DREAM loans to students, and establish mechanisms for recording the annual amount of the DREAM loan borrowed by each recipient, and the aggregate amount of DREAM loans borrowed by each recipient. The bill would require the trustees and request the regents to adopt regulations providing for the withholding of institutional services from current and former students who have been notified in writing that they are in default on DREAM loans. The bill would provide that each participating campus is entitled to an administrative cost allowance to equal a specified amount for an award year if the campus advances funds through the DREAM Program to students that academic year. The bill would provide that, if a state court finds that a specified provision of this program or similar provision adopted by the Regents of the University of California is unlawful, the court may order, as equitable relief, that the participating campus subject to the lawsuit terminate all loans awarded pursuant to that provision without money damages, loans, or other retroactive relief being awarded, and that the California State University and the University of California are immune from any imposition of money damages, loans, or other retroactive relief for actions taken under this program.