AB 2004 – Amends The California DREAM Loan Program To Limit The Aggregate Amount A Student May Borrow And Be Forgiven

AB 2004 amends the California DREAM Loan Program by prohibiting a student from borrowing more than $40,000 in aggregate from a program. The bill prohibits a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $20,000, in aggregate, and a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 under each program.

The bill requires that on or before January 1, 2024, the participating institution establish the DREAM loan forgiveness options for borrowers with similar standards as those set forth in the Federal Perkins Loan Program. It also requires that the participating institution provide exit counseling to include information about DREAM loan repayment, forbearance, deferment, discharge, and forgiveness. Institutions must also post information regarding DREAM loans on their websites.

The bill also provides borrowers with administrative relief consistent with state and federal state of emergency orders.

Finally, the bill requires institutions to report the following additional information on an annual basis:

• The annual amount contributed by DREAM loan repayments to the institution’s DREAM revolving fund.
• The annual amount of DREAM loans issued by the campus.
• The annual amount of remaining DREAM loan debt owed by borrowers.
• The number of borrowers in DREAM loan income-driven repayment, deferment, discharge, forbearance, and loan forgiveness at the end of each fiscal year.
• Borrower demographic information, which shall include, but is not limited to, age, gender, race, ethnicity, completed education level, and family education level.