CA AB2500

Commission must grant up to 30 calendar days postponement of financial aid application deadlines upon formal request from school district, community college district, or higher education institution officials if a qualifying event has adversely affected students' ability to submit applications.

Commission may grant deadline postponements without a formal request when a state of emergency is declared by the Governor or President of the United States.

Qualifying events include natural disasters, gubernatorial or presidential emergency declarations, and labor actions that occur during the financial aid application period.

Formal postponement requests must be submitted within 15 business days of the qualifying event's conclusion, and the commission must issue written notice of any approved postponement within 48 hours to specified state officials and legislative committees.

Commission staff must annually report deadline postponement data to the commission and Legislature, including number of granted requests, total late applications received, affected districts and regions, and whether postponements were equally available across impacted areas.