Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education.

This bill would establish the California Health Care Workforce Supplemental Loan Program, under the administration of the commission, for the purpose of providing eligible students, as defined, with access to the same level of financial assistance toward the cost of attendance at an accredited medical or nursing school, or at a school’s accredited social work or social welfare program, that was available on or before January 20, 2025, through federal direct unsubsidized loans and federal direct grad PLUS loans. The bill would require the commission to establish an application process and would require the loans issued under the program to have equivalent financial terms as the federal Direct PLUS Loans, as those terms existed on January 20, 2025, except for changes that the commission determines to be necessary to administer the program. The bill would create the Health Care Workforce Supplemental Loan Fund in the State Treasury.