Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which provides a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University with a DREAM loan. Eligible students are exempt from paying nonresident tuition.
SB 633 establishes the DREAM grant program. The bill authorizes participating institutions to award a DREAM grant commencing with the 2024–25 academic year to a grant-eligible student attending a participating institution. The bill provides that such awards may be made only if the institution has unawarded funds in the institution’s DREAM revolving fund that were new state, institutional matching, or loan repayment funds deposited during the previous academic year. The bill requires the distribute of DREAM grants during the academic year immediately following the academic year in which there was an unawarded DREAM revolving fund balance.
The bill further restricts the DREAM grant to only the amount of a student’s financial need in a given academic year. SB 633 provides that the participating institution determines the amount of the awarded and requires that grants for instructional programs have priority. The bill also states that a DREAM grant does not count towards the annual and aggregate borrowing limits of the California DREAM Loan Program.
(SB 633 amends Sections 70032 and 70036 of, and adds Section 70035.5 to the Education Code.)