By Leonardo Cervantes
Assembly Bill 789 would ensure more California students are able to keep their financial aid and achieve their higher education goals.
Gavin Newsom signing AB 789 was one of the best decisions he could make.
In order to maintain a Cal Grant or federal financial aid, students must meet certain satisfactory academic progress standards, such as a minimum GPA.
A lot of marginalized students are unable to meet these standards and are forced to drop out of college and join the workforce.
It’s no secret that attending college is expensive but financial aid helps pay for these higher education programs.
While you don’t necessarily need a college certificate to find a well-paying job, it helps tremendously. “The average annual pay for the Bachelor’s Degree jobs category in California is $57,992 a year.
“The average annual pay for the no degree jobs category in Los Angeles is $45,908 a year,” ZipRecruiter.com said on their website.
Books, school supplies and living expenses add up quickly, which makes financial aid comes in handy when students are in a money crunch.
Depending on the type of financial aid a student is receiving, it can also cover some of their expenses off campus.
Grants can temporarily eliminate stress levels they allow the student to focus on school work rather than constantly worrying about expense.
Some students, especially from of lower-income families, may only try out for a semester, which is the maximum their budget allows.
Financial aid bridges the gap between lower-income students and those who come from upper-class backgrounds.
It evens the playing field so those same students get an opportunity to achieve their lifelong dream.
Financial aid scholarships currently depend on the grades of students. Students are forced to take the class seriously in order to pay off in the long run.
With AB 789 in place, students won’t have to stress as much as before.
However, it’s always recommended to not fall behind in classes. It would be wise for students to keep the same mentality of not allowing their grades to slip after the bill is passed.
Therefore, if students do fail, the penalty won’t be as severe as before.
With the aid of grants and scholarships students won’t need to take out as many loans.
By the time they graduate, they will have substantially less debt.
Lower debt offers peace of mind and freedom as it won’t be such a burden to pay off in the following years.
A additional benefit of financial aid is the freedom it gives students to pursue what they truly want to do in life.
Instead of being pressured into a career that’s well paying but that they don’t have a passion for, they can set their goal to their true dream career.
Sure the extra dollars in your pockets will be nice, but there’s no point if you’re miserable every day.
It was a great decision by Newsom to sign this bill.
It protects and helps students even more than before.
AB 789 would remove barriers that limit students’ ability to keep their financial aid.
This bill ensures students with a prior satisfactory academic progress disqualification have the opportunity to apply to regain access to financial aid.
Students don’t want to fail, but now if they do, there are more protections in place.
If they fail, the consequences aren’t as severe as they once were.