Higher education budget trailer bill.

The window during which students up to age 30 (instead of 28) can receive a California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Award was shifted from 2026-27 through 2030-31 to 2027-28 through 2031-32, delaying the expanded age limit by one year.

The Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program now allows loan repayment payments to be made directly to the participant rather than only to the lender, with the participant electing which option to use. Related provisions were updated to require the commission to verify that payments made to participants were used in accordance with the program.

For student housing projects selected for financing on or after June 30, 2026, the board of governors must now provide the State Public Works Board with documentation that the participating college has fee title ownership of the property and documentation of unmet demand for student housing. The prior authority to acquire a student housing project and its site was deleted.

The deadline for the CSU chancellor's office to report enrollment targets and related data to legislative committees was changed from February 15 to March 15 of each year.

The University of California's Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program was extended from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2032, and the required report to legislative committees was extended from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2031.

Deadlines for community college district annual reports on the Student Support Block Grant were extended by one year (to December 31, 2030), the chancellor's office interim report deadline was changed from July 1, 2028 to December 31, 2028, and the final report deadline was changed from July 1, 2030 to December 31, 2031.

The $49,734,000 appropriation from the Public School System Stabilization Account for the Student Centered Funding Formula in the 2025-26 fiscal year was repealed.

An additional $325,000 was appropriated in 2026-27 for the Student Support Block Grant. The expenditure deadline was extended from June 30, 2029 to June 30, 2030, and the permitted uses were broadened from specified purposes (student basic needs assistance and mental health services) to any student support program purpose.

The $15,000,000 appropriation in 2026-27 for supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students was retained, but the requirement that grants be limited to up to $900,000 per district based on proportional share and equity metrics was deleted, along with the 5-year encumbrance provision.

For the 2026-27 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, a community college district's funded credit FTES for base allocation purposes shall be the greater of the three-year rolling average or the district's current year credit FTES eligible for funding, providing a floor that protects districts from enrollment declines.

The bill's fiscal notes were updated: appropriation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and fiscal committee changed from 'no' to 'yes', reflecting the bill's transformation from a placeholder to an actual appropriations measure.