Oct 3rd

Governor Newsom Signs NCCPC-Sponsored Bill: AB 288 California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act

California joins the movement as the fifth state to prohibit the practice of scholarship displacement for low-income students who receive private scholarships

RICHMOND (Sept. 30, 2022) The Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC) — a coalition of 30+ college promise and access programs, advocacy organizations, cities, and mayors — applauds California Governor Gavin Newsom for signing AB 288: The California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act. Taking effect for the 2023-2024 academic year, the bill will benefit over a million students who would have been at risk of losing critical scholarship support to help them complete college at public or private institutions. 

“The college affordability crisis is only exacerbated by the current economic climate,” said Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton, Director of Higher Education at Public Advocates.  “Scholarships are critical to bridge the financial aid gap and lessen students’ debt burden when they graduate. On behalf of the 1 million students from low-income backgrounds who will benefit from banning scholarship displacement: Thank you, Governor Newsom for standing with students and signing AB 288 into law.”

“The vision behind this bill came from the student-centric leadership of our member organizations, programs who serve over 150,000 multiply-marginalized underserved students across 12 counties of Northern California. They heard our students’ call to action, and through NCCPC’s collective impact approach, leveraged the stories we heard locally to shine a light on a broader issue that impacts students state- and nationwide,” said Meredith Curry Nuñez, Executive Director of NCCPC. NCCPC extends a special thanks to co-authors Assemblymember Lisa Calderon and Assemblymember Mia Bonta and the California State Legislature for their leadership on behalf of students. 

“My whole life, I helped financially support my family in the Central Valley. Even though I received grants and scholarships, I had to continue to work full time as a waitress to support myself, a reality a lot of students today still face in their academic pursuits,” said bill author Assemblymember Lisa Calderon. “Since we are experiencing a period of high inflation, it is even more urgent that we help low-income students who may have no other means to pay their college expenses.”

“We are incredibly grateful for the Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCal CAN) and Scholarship America for their co-sponsorship and the more than 300 organization and individual supporters who collectively raised their voices to shine a light on this important issue,” added Curry Nuñez.

California joins Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, and Pennsylvania, leading a nationwide movement to prohibit scholarship displacement, preventing students from losing the critical scholarship dollars they work hard to attain and need to pay for college. 

Scholarship Displacement is a common practice at both public and private colleges and universities. This practice often reduces the financial aid packages institutions provide to students who obtain outside private scholarships. When the amount of those scholarships “displaces” financial aid students would otherwise receive from the school (such as gift aid like grants and scholarships), it effectively cancels out some, or even all, of the value of those scholarships. 

About The Northern California College Promise Coalition

The Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC) convenes, contributes to, and leverages member power, skills, and knowledge to collectively make systemic change in the areas of college access, success, and affordability with the vision of eliminating income and wealth disparities. We work in Northern California, with impact statewide and beyond. Learn more at www.norcalpromisecoalition.org.

Contact:
Meredith Curry Nuñez
Executive Director
408-901-0290
mer@norcalpromisecoalition.org