(a) Only a resident of California, as determined by the commission pursuant to Part 41 (commencing with Section 68000), is eligible for an initial Cal Grant award. The recipient shall remain eligible for award renewal only if he or she is a California resident, in attendance, and making satisfactory academic progress at a qualifying institution, as determined by the commission.

(b) A part-time student shall not be discriminated against in the selection of Cal Grant Program award recipients, and an award to a part-time student shall be approximately proportional to the time the student spends in the instructional program, as determined by the commission. A first-time Cal Grant Program award recipient who is a part-time student shall be eligible for a full-time renewal award if he or she becomes a full-time student.

(c) Cal Grant Program awards shall be awarded without regard to race, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or age.

(d) An applicant shall not receive more than one type of Cal Grant Program award concurrently. An applicant shall not:

(1) Receive one or a combination of Cal Grant Program awards in excess of the amount equivalent to the award level for a total of four years of full-time attendance in an undergraduate program, except as provided in Section 69433.6.

(2) Have obtained a baccalaureate degree before receiving a Cal Grant Program award.

(e) A Cal Grant Program award, except as provided in Section 69440, may only be used for educational expenses of a program of study leading directly to an undergraduate degree or certificate, or for expenses of undergraduate coursework in a program of study leading directly to a first professional degree, but for which no baccalaureate degree is awarded.

(f) The commission shall, for students who accelerate college attendance, increase the amount of award proportional to the period of additional attendance resulting from attendance in classes that fulfill requirements or electives for graduation during summer terms, sessions, or quarters. In the aggregate, the total amount a student may receive in a four-year period may not be increased as a result of accelerating his or her progress to a degree by attending summer terms, sessions, or quarters.

(g) The commission shall notify Cal Grant award recipients of the availability of funding for the summer term, session, or quarter through prominent notice in financial aid award letters, materials, guides, electronic information, and other means that may include, but not necessarily be limited to, surveys, newspaper articles, or attachments to communications from the commission and any other published documents.

(h) The commission may require, by the adoption of rules and regulations, the production of reports, accounting, documents, or other necessary statements from the award recipient and the college or university of attendance pertaining to the use or application of the award.

(i) A Cal Grant Program award may be utilized only at a qualifying institution.

(j) A recipient who initially qualified for both a Cal Grant A award and a Cal Grant B award, and received a Cal Grant B award, may be awarded a renewal Cal Grant A award if that recipient subsequently became ineligible for a renewal Cal Grant B award and meets the applicable Cal Grant A financial need and income and asset criteria.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 38, Sec. 62. (SB 1016) Effective June 27, 2012.)