CA AB2251

Requires Cal Grant qualifying institutions to develop and implement cost of attendance (COA) policies and adjustment processes consistent with federal Higher Education Act standards by the 2027-28 academic year.

Mandates institutions publicly display data sources and assumptions used to calculate each COA budget component on their websites.

Requires institutions to allow COA adjustments for housing, food, transportation, books, dependent care, computer purchases, uninsured medical expenses, and disability-related costs.

Establishes procedural requirements including 30-business-day review timelines, acceptance of electronic or hard copy requests, unlimited adjustment requests during enrollment, and a second review process for denied requests.

Addresses findings that 53% of California public colleges use COA budgets below estimated regional costs and nearly two-thirds fail to publish COA adjustment policies as federally required.