By Meredith Curry Nuñez, Executive Director of the Northern California College Promise Coalition, and Alison De Lucca, Executive Director of the Southern California College Attainment Network
Reading time: Four minutes
California became the 5th state to ban scholarship displacement when the governor signed the California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act (AB 288)
on September 30, 2022. Joining Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, and Pennsylvania, California’s new law will take effect in the 2023-2024 academic year and benefit over a million students each year who would have been at risk of losing critical scholarship
support they need to complete their degrees.
Scholarship displacement occurs when one form of financial aid, like a grant, is decreased by the amount of an external scholarship award, resulting in a zero net gain for a student. A
2021 Student Beans survey found that about 50% of private
scholarship recipients experience scholarship displacement, with 62% having their institutional grants reduced. California’s new law means that hard-earned scholarship dollars will remain in the pockets of students, where they can be used to cover
expenses, including the non-tuition costs of college such as food, housing, transportation, and childcare.
Building a Campaign from the Ground Up
The idea for the bill emerged directly from college access professionals on the ground who witnessed repeatedly the challenges their students were facing as they encountered and combatted
scholarship displacement. Student stories surfaced from countless students across the state, including this testimonial from a Students Rising Above Scholar: “I am a low-income, first-generation college student who is navigating this process by myself.
It is not fair for colleges to take away awards from students. I am only 19 and don’t have parental support, so I have to watch out for myself. I’m not only worried about tuition, but also my housing, health, and the family I support.”
California’s
legislative victory for low-income students is the outcome of three years of advocacy and coalition building work led by the Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC), a
coalition of more than 30 college promise and access programs, advocacy organizations, cities, and mayors collectively representing over 150,000 students across 12 counties. NCCPC’s Policy Committee was founded in early 2020 and worked to draft the
first version of the bill with Assemblymember Rob Bonta. Much of its early inspiration came from lessons learned from Maryland, the first state to bar public colleges from practicing scholarship displacement . California’s version would focus not
just on public four-year colleges, but also include two-year colleges and private colleges and universities.
Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D57) took over sponsorship of AB 288 when Rob Bonta became Attorney General in 2021. NCCPC’s founding
Policy Committee Co-Chair Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D18), joined as co-author after taking office in Fall 2021.
Sponsoring a Bill as a Coalition
As AB 288 moved through the legislative process, NCCPC sought
the partnership of the Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCal CAN) and Scholarship America who joined as co-sponsors
in 2021. Both organizations boasted a strong membership base eager to get involved. NCCPC provided the backbone function for the sponsors, including developing campaign roles and tasks and taking lessons from NCAN’s advocacy training and resources to create a shared agenda for teams and a shared agenda for legislators. Scholarship America contributed its technical expertise in scholarship provision and equitable
financial aid practices, and SoCal CAN provided important connections to policymakers in the Southern California region and leaders of California’s higher-ed systems making the AB 288 coalition all the more powerful.
Together, we launched
the campaign #HandsOffMyScholarship to spread awareness of the issue across California. We convened meetings with scholarship providers, college access and success
programs, advocacy organizations, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and the Association for Independent California Colleges and Universities to discuss the issue and gather valuable input
to strengthen the bill proposal.
We recruited over 300 organizations and individuals to sign letters of support, call their representatives,
and engage partners in this issue. The resounding support across the state was critical in bringing this bill to the attention of state policymakers. As we built a groundswell of support to ban the practice, we also scaled and broadened the community
of practitioners in California that is now aware of and can support students through this issue.
Amplifying Student Voices & Leaders
Leveraging student stories about scholarship displacement was essential to
the passage of the bill. We collected student stories of displacement from across the state using online tools. SoCal CAN engaged one of their Changemakers Fellows to share her experience in person at the Senate Education Committee Hearing. A recent
college graduate and staff member of SoCal CAN shared his story in an EdSource article. These and other student stories allowed us to shine a light on an issue that impacts students in our state and nationwide.
Leveraging Networks and Practitioners to Advance Equitable Policies
With AB 288 now chaptered, the road ahead includes monitoring implementation, providing technical support for advisors and providers responding to scholarship displacement, and policy evaluation. In a state as large as California, we know the value
of partnership and collaboration to improve outcomes for students. Together, we can ensure that students can maximize every single dollar they earn and qualify for so they can graduate from college with as little debt as possible.
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