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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 19, 2014 10:59 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Andrew E. Dinniman |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Bridge Funding |
| In the near future I will be introducing a bill to provide bridge funding to the PA Department of Education (PDE) to continue the essential work being done since 2009 by the Challenge Grant team, which includes Project GRAD USA, Penn State Advising Corps, Franklin & Marshall Advising Corps and the PHEAA Caps program. Last session I introduced this bill (SB1026) with Rep. Roebuck (HB975). As of September 1, 2012, the Commonwealth was ineligible to receive this grant due to the inability to meet the maintenance of effort requirements for funding Higher Education in our state under the federal law. However, my legislation would seek to appropriate $4.2 million dollars to the PDE to use to continue the programs that have been assisting our most at risk students with the opportunity to access post-secondary education. We will pay for this by utilizing unexpended funds from PDE. In 2012, Project GRAD operated on a budget of about $2 million, but was instrumental in helping graduates earn nearly $20 million in financial aid and scholarships for post-secondary education. GRAD has found unique ways to reach students and parents in these communities and has created a college-going culture within these host school districts. The number of students who have been given the opportunity to access post-secondary education has increased significantly: demonstrating a continued need for this program. The students that this bill will help are under-served in the areas of college access and academic services. It will assure that the work by the Challenge Grant team to help kids graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education (college or training programs) to make them productive members of society will continue uninterrupted until a time federal funds can be secured again. The opportunities that will be lost far outweigh the cost of the investment that we must make in order to keep this opportunity in place for Pennsylvania’s children. Pennsylvania has some of the highest costs for public, private and community college education in the nation. Pennsylvania funds public higher education at approximately 50 percent of the national average. In Pennsylvania, an estimated 71 percent of students graduate with a debt, with the average of $32,258 per student. This bill is part of the multi-faceted College Access Plan (CAP). CAP is a comprehensive package of legislation designed to improve student access to higher education, reduce student debt and jump-start Pennsylvania's economy. If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please contact Lisa M. Felix at lfelix@pasenate.com or at 705-5849. Thank you in advance for your support. |
Introduced as SB103