House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) was established in 1983 with the goals of increasing education attainment in the state, preparing undergraduate and graduate students for professional and personal success, and contributing to the economic, social, and cultural development of Pennsylvania. PASSHE provides affordable access to higher education to over 90,000 students across the state, but it can only do this if we provide the necessary financial support it needs. Funding for our state system, however, does not always equal the funding that other state-related institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania receive. This is simply counter to PASSHE’s purpose, and we need to do something to fix it. 

 

It is essential that we provide PASSHE with the resources to accomplish the goals it was established to do. That is why I am introducing legislation to ensure that PASSHE is funded equally to other state-related schools in Pennsylvania. Specifically, my legislation would require the Secretary of the Budget to calculate and certify any difference in funding between the two systems each fiscal year. If the funding provided to PASSHE is less than that provided to the state-related institutions, PASSHE will receive the difference from the General Fund. This legislation will ensure that PASSHE has equal funding to its state-related counterparts, without taking money away from them, to ensure our public institutions of higher education across the state have equal resources. 

 

We need to ensure that PASSHE continues to be equally funded to provide more affordable access to higher education for individuals across the state. I hope you will join me in supporting this legislation that will help our state system of higher education.