(a) An applicant competing for an award under this article shall meet all the requirements of Article 1 (commencing with Section 69430).

(b) To compete for a competitive Cal Grant A award, an applicant shall, at a minimum, meet all of the requirements of Article 2 (commencing with Section 69434), with the exception of paragraphs (1) and (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 69434. However, in lieu of meeting the grade point average requirement set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 69434, an applicant may submit a community college or college grade point average of at least 2.4 on a 4.0 scale.

(c) To compete for a competitive Cal Grant B award, an applicant shall, at a minimum, meet all of the requirements of Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435), with the exception of paragraphs (1) and (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 69435.3. However, in lieu of meeting the grade point average requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 69435.3, a student may do either of the following:

(1) Demonstrate attainment of a community college or college grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.

(2) Reestablish the student’s grade point average by completing at least 16 cumulative units of credit for academic coursework at an accredited California community college, as defined by the commission, by regulation, with at least a 2.0 community college grade point average.

(d) To compete for a competitive California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Award, an applicant shall, at a minimum, meet the requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 69436), with the exception of paragraphs (8) and (9) of subdivision (b) of Section 69436.

(e) All other competitors shall, at a minimum, comply with all of the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 69432.9.

(f) (1) An individual selected for a competitive Cal Grant A award who enrolls in a California community college may elect to have the award held in reserve for a period not to exceed two academic years, except that the commission may extend the period in which the individual’s award may be held in reserve for up to three academic years if, in the commission’s judgment, the rate of academic progress has been as rapid as could be expected for the personal and financial conditions that the student has encountered. The commission shall, in this case, hold the award in reserve for the additional year. Upon receipt of a request to transfer the award to a tuition or fee charging qualifying institution, the individual shall be eligible to receive the Cal Grant A award previously held in reserve if, at the time of the request, the individual meets all of the requirements of this article. Upon receipt of the request, the commission shall reassess the financial need of the award recipient. The commission may prescribe the forms and procedures to be utilized for the purposes of this section. A recipient’s years of eligibility for payment of benefits shall be based upon the recipient’s grade level at the time the award is transferred to the tuition or fee charging qualifying institution. Any award so held in reserve shall only be counted once toward the 41,000 awards authorized by this article.

(2) Individuals who are selected for a Cal Grant A award that is held in reserve pursuant to this subdivision and who meet the qualifying criteria pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 69465 shall receive an award for access costs pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 69465).

(3) The access award referenced in paragraph (2) shall be provided annually to qualifying individuals during the period of time that their Cal Grant A award is held in reserve and upon transfer to a tuition or fee charging qualifying institution, provided that the individual continues to meet the qualifying criteria pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 69465.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 53, Sec. 12. (SB 77) Effective July 1, 2019.)