Making College Affordable in Pennsylvania
Lawmakers are currently working on negotiating Pennsylvania’s next budget which could impact many aspects of life in Pennsylvania, including public education, public safety, and affordable housing.
They are also talking about ways to make higher education more affordable. Both Democrats and Republicans have said that affordable college is a top priority as they discuss how to invest PA’s nearly $14 billion dollar surplus, signaling that reform for PA higher education is on the way.
Senator Hughes first led on the idea of free and affordable college when he introduced his PA Promise legislation in 2017. The idea of PA Promise was to provide funding to cover any tuition and fees at state-owned, state-related and community colleges, after federal and state grants have been provided, to students who come from families who make under $200K a year.
In January 2024, Governor Shapiro proposed a comprehensive plan to make the state’s higher ed system more cost effective & to better serve students in PA.
And then in June, Senate Republicans introduced the Grow Pennsylvania Scholarship Grant. The Grow PA Scholarship actually offers a similar proposal to what PA Promise would deliver for Pennsylvania college students. It recently passed the Senate.
The job of a lawmaker is to advocate and work on behalf of their constituents. Senator Hughes has known for some time that the cost of college is too high for too many and student loans are making it nearly impossible to have financial stability after college.
Affordable college is possible, and we’re happy to see lawmakers put politics aside to find a solution for students.