Leaders from California’s major higher education systems have issued a unified plea to Congress, urging lawmakers to reject proposed cuts to the federal Pell Grant program that could jeopardize college access for hundreds of thousands of students in the state.
In a June 23 letter addressed to top congressional leaders, the heads of the University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges, and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities warned that provisions in the House’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (HR 1), as well as proposed changes to the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget, represent an “existential threat” to the Pell Grant program.
“This is no overstatement: If adopted, these changes will effectively cripple economic and social mobility,” the letter states, noting that more than 700,000 California students rely on Pell Grants to afford postsecondary education.
The letter highlights two major policy changes proposed in HR 1: increasing the annual credit requirement for full-time Pell eligibility from 24 to 30 credits and eliminating eligibility for students enrolled less than half-time. According to the authors, these changes would disproportionately harm students who balance work, parenting, or other responsibilities with their studies.
“Hundreds of thousands of students would receive at least a 20% reduction in their award under this policy,” the letter says.
Additionally, the president’s proposed budget would slash the maximum Pell Grant by $1,685 by reverting the award amount to levels from a decade ago. The letter criticizes this move for “flat-funding the program, instead of working to fill the program deficit.”
The letter was signed by Dr. Mildred García, chancellor of California State University; Dr. Sonya Christian, chancellor of California Community Colleges; Dr. Michael V. Drake, president of the University of California; and Kristen Soares, president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
The coalition praised a budget reconciliation draft from Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, which maintains the current maximum Pell Grant award of $7,395 and rejects the proposed eligibility cuts. They urged lawmakers to adopt similar measures.
“We implore you to reject the cuts to the federal Pell Grant and to work to fill the Fiscal Year 2026 shortfall,” the letter concludes, “allowing current and future generations to pursue their educational, professional, and personal dreams by earning a life-changing certificate or degree.”
