May 20, 2021 – Managing Attorney John Affeldt is featured in EdSource’s recap of Governor Newsom’s higher education budget.
What among the governor’s proposals will most advance students’ recovery from the pandemic and why?
The most needed investments in higher ed are those that will provide direct relief to low-income students to help them recover from the pandemic. We were pleased to see the January budget propose $175 million across the three sectors to assist students with food, housing and tech access (community colleges) and financial aid (CSU and UC). The May Revise builds on those proposals with a new $30 million investment in basic needs centers at community colleges and two innovative proposals — one to invest $4 billion in constructing student housing prioritized for Pell grant eligible students, and another for $2 billion to seed college savings accounts for low-income K-12 students. The details of these need to be examined. For example, we have some concern that requiring low-income students to carry more than the minimum full-time course load to be eligible for the new housing may be counterproductive. Overall though, the Administration’s heightened attention to the basic needs of struggling students holds out hope for many that they will be able to turn the corner on the devastating consequences the pandemic has disproportionately visited on their lives and allow them to continue with their education.
What priority should have been in the budget but wasn’t?
We support the Cal Grant Modernization and Equity Framework, as embodied in AB 1456 (Medina and McCarty), to update and expand Cal Grant financial aid to hundreds of thousands of additional students in economic need. The state is well-positioned to accomplish this much-needed reform. We look forward to discussions with the Legislature and the governor in the coming weeks to advance this effort.
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