04/23/2024

Newsom Proposes More Help For Homeless California College Students But No Major Cal Grant Boost

Governor Gavin Newsom proposed adding $10 million to help college students with emergency housing costs but stopped short of expanding the state’s Cal Grant program to cover full expenses of rent and food of all needy students.

Newsom did not embrace the massive financial aid increase that some legislators and advocates want to cover students’ living costs. Instead he proposed boosting state funding by $10 million “to support rapid rehousing of homeless and housing insecure students” at the ten-campus University of California system and the 23-campus California State University system. In his January budget plan, Newsom sought $30 million to help cover those students’ basic needs and his new plan would bring that total to $40 million.

He announced the additional money on Thursday as part of his May revision of his budget proposal for 2019-20.

“This hunger, homeless and housing crisis is real at UCs, community colleges and CSUs,” the governor declared.

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