We Did it: States tackle free college after Biden failed to deliver

Feb 22, 2022

Presented by The Collaborative for Student Success

STATES STEP UP, MAKE COLLEGE FREE: When First Lady Jill Biden addressed a community college summit earlier this month, she conceded what conference attendees had known for months now — the Biden administration's push to make two years of higher education free for all had sputtered and stalled.

— But there's still hope of expanding access to subsidized college this year, thanks to some states.

— A growing number of states are introducing legislation or using pandemic relief aid to make two years of community college free for their residents. The governors of Maine and New Mexico called for free college programs in their recent state of the state addresses, and last week, lawmakers in New Mexico passed legislation that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is poised to sign.

— "Not only does this program provide opportunities to build brighter futures, it also helps our state build capacity in high-need fields like teaching, medicine and the trades," Lujan Grisham said in a statement . "This fall, up to 35,000 New Mexicans will go to college for free — that's a gamechanger for families, communities and businesses around the state."

— There's been heightened activity at the local level lately because states have grown impatient with Washington and so many of them have surpluses, said Jee Hang Lee, the president and CEO of the Association of Community College Trustees. States are also worried about the sharp decline in community college enrollment since the pandemic's start and see free tuition as a way to reverse that trend.

IT'S TUESDAY, FEB. 22. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. I'm interested in documents and data that illuminate problems in our schools you feel aren't getting enough attention. Have something I should see? You can reach me at jcalefati@politico.com. You can also contact my colleagues: Lauraine Genota (lgenota@politico.com), Juan Perez Jr. (jperez@politico.com), Bianca Quilantan ( bquilantan@politico.com) and Michael Stratford (mstratford@politico.com). And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @ POLITICOPro.

A message from The Collaborative for Student Success:

See the brightest ideas in education recovery.

EduRecoveryHub.org displays state-by-state recovery information & provides insight into smart investments happening now. This one-stop resource spotlights strong practices in K-12 pandemic recovery that are supported by federal relief funds.

And to dive deeper into states' recovery strategies, EduRecoveryHub now features case studies on how Republican- and Democratic-led states are using funds to accelerate learning and meet students' social and emotional needs. Learn More: EduRecoveryHub.org

Community Colleges

MAKING HIGHER ED ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE: As of last fall, 32 states and the District of Columbia had statewide "college promise" programs that offer funding and other aid to help students complete two or more years of postsecondary education. One of the nation's oldest programs is Tennessee Promise, which allows residents who graduate or get a GED before turning 19 to enroll full time at any of the state's community colleges as well as select public and independent universities.

— The legislation New Mexico's Lujan Grisham is expected to sign into law soon will cover even more students, such as adults returning to college and students who want to enroll part time. "Many New Mexicans must juggle work and family responsibilities in addition to their coursework," said Rep. Joy Garratt, who sponsored the legislation. "This will make higher education more accessible for everyone in our state."

— Maine Gov. Janet Mills has proposed making community college free for high school students from the graduating classes of 2020 through 2023 , i.e., the students most impacted by the pandemic. The program will help connect students with good-paying jobs and help solve Maine's longstanding workforce shortage, Mills said recently at an event held to promote the plan.

— Michigan and Minnesota used federal pandemic relief aid to create free college programs. Michigan's Futures for Frontliners covers tuition for essential workers who helped keep the state afloat during the pandemic. Minnesota's Future Together Grants support students who seek degrees in high-need areas like health care, business and education.

— Asked if Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's interest in creating a free college program had anything to do with inaction on the issue in Washington, Keith Hovis, a spokesperson for the state Office of Higher Education, said, the program was a response to "a need we saw in the state."

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K-12

ABSENTEEISM, TRUANCY SOARED DURING PANDEMIC: One factor that will complicate efforts to recover learning lost during the pandemic is just how many absences children racked up last year. And a report obtained by POLITICO lays bare the problem's extent for Washington, D.C., public school students.

— Combining excused and unexcused absences, nearly 13,000 kids enrolled in district and charter schools missed more than 20 percent of the year, a threshold the city calls severe chronic absence.

— District students spent most of last year learning online, which resulted in worse student attendance, the city's Office of the State Superintendent of Education wrote in the report, published late last year. The share of city students considered truant, meaning they had more than 10 unexcused absences, increased nearly 10 percent compared to the 2018–19 school year, the last before the health crisis began.

— The city's schools chancellor, who oversees district schools, and officials from the D.C. Public Charter School Board, which oversees charters, declined to comment.

— Absenteeism was worst among ninth graders, a quarter of whom missed a third or more of the school year, and among special education students and those deemed "at-risk" because of homelessness or other factors. More than half of Washington's at-risk students were truant last year, whereas only a quarter of students not considered at-risk missed that much school.

— When the district applied for nearly $400 million in federal pandemic relief aid, it was asked to explain how it would use the money to support students who didn't consistently participate in remote instruction. But its response was light on details. To help disengaged ninth graders, the district wrote that it would embed tutoring throughout the school day and better train its teachers. Other schools will be supported by unspecified grants.

Coronavirus

— ICYMI: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to issue an emergency order blocking San Diego Unified's vaccine mandate for students, Susannah reports . A policy requiring all staff and children ages 16 and up to get vaccinated against Covid-19 was supposed to take effect last month, but implementation was delayed after a San Diego superior court judge struck down the mandate. The high court cited that delay when it ruled emergency relief wasn't warranted.

— San Diego was one of the first districts in the country to require students to get vaccinated against the virus to attend school in person. Los Angeles Unified also planned to require the shots for children 12 and up, but the district voluntarily postponed the policy's enforcement when it realized tens of thousands of students hadn't gotten vaccinated and would have to switch to virtual learning.

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Report Roundup

— A new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and The Education Trust found that Black child care providers earn an average of 78 cents less per hour than their white counterparts, even when controlling for education level. The report also details how white business owners were approved for Paycheck Protection Program funds at almost twice the rate of Latino business owners.

— Women are quitting their jobs at a higher rate than men, and the gender quit gap is widest in states like Maine and Rhode Island, where child care disruptions have been more pervasive, according to a new report from payroll company Gusto. Nationwide, 4.1 percent of women quit their jobs in January compared to 3.4 percent of men.

A message from The Collaborative for Student Success:

EduRecoveryHub features in-depth information provided by state education officials about their strategy and vision for utilizing recovery funds – and what actions they've taken.

Arizona, Kentucky, North Dakota, and Tennessee represent a cross-section of the country with diverse student group needs. Some of the ways they've used recovery funds include:

• Granting districts access to state reserve funds in exchange for greater investment in initiatives tied directly to student outcomes, including student instructional or extra-curricular experiences, mental health or social-emotional learning supports, or staffing policies to meet individual students' needs.
• Allocating more than $20 million toward school counselors and social workers at approximately 170 schools.
• A $200 million investment in tutoring across the state, coinciding with a district incentive plan with benefits like cost sharing and planning grants.
• A statewide directive to invest 1/3 of relief funds on proven strategies now, while reserving an additional 1/3 for innovation and modernization.

Learn More: EduRecoveryHub.org