- Senate bill would allow FIPSE to cover dual-enrollment costs
- Lack of ED guidance hampers SNAP outreach
Senate bill would allow FIPSE to cover dual-enrollment costs
Senate lawmakers have reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would broaden the use of certain federal aid programs to support credit-based academic transition programs, including dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment and early college high school programs.
The Making Education Affordable and Accessible Act – which Sens. Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and John Boozman (R-Arkansas) reintroduced last week – would allow funding from the Higher Education Act Title VII Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to help colleges and universities strengthen early college access programs.
Colleges could use the funds to support activities, such as course design, course approval processes, community outreach, student counseling and support services. They also could tap the funding for professional development and to cover education-related costs, such as tuition and fees, books and transportation.
The lawmakers said in a release that the goal is to reduce barriers to higher education, lower student debt, and create stronger academic pathways from high school to college and beyond.
“To meet our current workforce needs, we must expand access to the higher education and skills training opportunities that help prepare our young people to land good, in-demand jobs,” Peters said in a press release. “This bipartisan bill would give high school students the chance to get a head start working towards a four-year college or associate’s degree to begin building their future without the financial burden of taking on student loans.”
The bill, which has been reintroduced several times since its initial introduction in 2019, has received support from several community colleges, including Macomb Community College and Mott Community College, as well as the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Association for Career and Technical Education.
Lack of ED guidance hampers SNAP outreach
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is encouraging the U.S. Education Department (ED) to develop a plan to help federal agencies and states inform eligible college students of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
A new law went into effect last summer that allows ED to share students’ Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) data with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state SNAP agencies to conduct student outreach and streamline benefit administration. However, the department has not yet developed a plan to do so, according to the report.
“These gaps in guidance have left states with questions about how to permissibly use and share students’ data to help connect them with benefits,” the report says.
GAO also said that ED’s method for identifying potentially eligible students could miss up to 40% of those who qualify for SNAP.
Based on interviews with three selected states and seven colleges, GAO noted in its report that key strategies for communicating with students about their potential SNAP eligibility include: using destigmatizing language, linking students directly to an application or support staff, and coordinating outreach efforts with SNAP agencies.
