California legislation on tap to help college students who are parents
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(California News Service) Groups that advocate for equity in higher education are speaking out in favor of a bill in the California Legislature to make sure college financial aid offers take into account the extra costs faced by students who have children.
It's estimated that student parents have to spend an extra $7,500 a year compared to non-parents, to cover childcare, housing, transportation, and food.
Su Jin Jez, CEO of the nonprofit California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy, said the bill is critical.
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"It addresses college affordability by making financial aid adjustments for student parents to cover the true cost that they face to attend college," she said. "And the other piece is around improving data collection."
The bill, A.B. 2458, has no registered opposition. It passed the State Assembly and is working its way through the State Senate.
Jez said 4 million parents in California have a high school diploma but no college degree. About 400,000 students are enrolled in higher education. About 300,000 are undergraduates, and 61 percent of them are first-generation college students.
"Serving student parents really helps to advance more equitable outcomes, not only for the student parent, but also for their children. A parent's educational attainment level is one of the best predictors of whether or not a child will go to college," Jez added.
California Competes recently teamed up with Ed Trust-West to launch The California Alliance for Student Parent Success - a coalition of student parents, education leaders, and advocates.
