Education & Youth Blog 

Last week during his State of the Union, President Obama outlined an education agenda focused on pursuing “a country that leads the world in educating its people.” Two critical elements of this blueprint are to raise the compulsory education age to 18 and to improve the affordability of higher education through expanded student aid and other programs aimed at controlling costs. Underlying these proposals, of course, is a recognition that education is not only an essential question of justice and equality, but also one that is at the very heart of our national interest and economic well-being.

Many low-income college students will still receive up to $5,500 in Pell grants during the 2012-2013 academic year, thanks to federal budget negotiations that staved off a reduction in the maximum grant level. But changes to eligibility requirements for the grants could mean that an estimated 100,000 students will face additional financial barriers to enrolling in and completing college. Students without a GED and part-time students who take longer than 12 semesters to finish their degrees, such as many working parents, will no longer be eligible. And students must now have family incomes below $23,000 - rather than $30,000 - to automatically qualify for a grant at the maximum level.