On Friday, as a fifth parent was charged regarding the college admission fraud issue, California Governor Gavin Newsom also signed multiple bills to help improve the financial aid programs for college students.
An answer to college admission fraud
The bill signing of Gov. Newsom took place on the same day a fifth parent was sentenced concerning the recent college admission scandal. The issue created a buzz due to the involvement of known celebrities and entrepreneurs in the college admission fraud incident. The case involves wealthy and influential personalities paying a fixer to slide their children into any prestigious college they wanted to thru bribery.
The fifth parent involved in the scandalous college bribery was a former vineyard owner from Napa valley. He pleaded guilty of conspiracy to committing fraud connected to the college admission case. The defendant admitted to paying $50,000 to manipulate his daughter’s SAT exam, another $50,000 for bribes, and paying a hefty $200,000 to get his daughter into the University of Southern California as a fake varsity prospect in water polo sport.
The accused was sentenced to a five-month prison sentence, a $100,000 fine, and 500 hours of community service. Details of the defendant’s sentence were released from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Components of Newson’s signed bills
Included in the signed legislation of Gov. Newson are stricter penalties involving college admission fraud cases, bribery and any other fraudulent acts within college grounds.
A section of the bills signed also imposes an increase in financial aid meant for students. Inclusion of $42.6 million to the state budget was proposed by Newson to support the second year of free tuition for around 33,000 students this 2019-2020, and another $41.8 million in Cal Grant scholarships to accommodate more grantees.
Here is a shortlist of the bills signed by the Governor:
- AB 1340 – The bill would require an institution to report graduate earning and debt levels to the bureau annually according to a schedule and format determined by the bureau.
- AB 1346 – The Student Tuition Recovery Fund provides a student the right to seek reimbursement of any economic loss suffered if the school chooses to close.
- AB 1344 – Increase government provision over institutions operating out of state programs.
- Dual enrollment application simplified.
- SB 554 – Advanced Scholastic and Vocational Training Program, allowing an adult enrolled in a high school equivalency program to enroll in another community college course free of charge.
- SB 586 – Coordination between school board or community college with the local workforce to ensure career and education programs are in line with the need of the state. This will ensure efficient workforce availability from college graduates.
