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2020 Federal Legislative Priorities

Legislative Priorities

PELL GRANT EXPANSION

Support Veterans

  SUPPORT VETERANS

Transparency and Data

  TRANSPARENCY AND DATA

Support Dreamers

  SUPPORT DREAMERS

Invest in Educations and Workforce

  INVEST IN EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE

  

PELL GRANT EXPANSION

  • Extend Pell Grant eligibility to short-term training programs.

  • Increase the maximum Pell Grant annually to maintain its purchasing power.

  • Extend Pell Grant support to incarcerated students — “Second Chance” support.

TRANSPARENCY AND DATA

  • Create a national student unit record data system that accurately tracks completion, transfer and graduates’ earnings.

  • Create a formal completion rate of 300% of “normal time” for community college programs to accurately reflect the student populations.

INVEST IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE

  • Increase funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Federal Work-Study, TRIO, GEAR UP, and Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) programs.

  • Increase funding for institutional aid programs that serve underrepresented populations.

  • Enhance funding for Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants, state grants under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program.

  • Continue to support dedicated community college funding to expand job training programs for in-demand industries by increasing funding for the new Strengthening Community College Training Grants administered by the Department of Labor.

 SUPPORT VETERANS

  • Support funding for new and existing programs to help institutions better serve the needs of veteran students.

  • Ensure the ability of active-duty personnel and their dependents to access community college educational programs.

St. Philip’s College houses the Good Samaritan Veterans Outreach & Transition Center to serve all active-duty and retired service members and their families in the region.

San Antonio College is home to the Victory Center, a one-stop-shop for student veterans.

SUPPORT DREAMERS

  • Enact the Dream Act to provide a path to citizenship for certain undocumented students who entered the U.S. as minors.
Approximately 1,000 DREAMers are enrolled at the Alamo Colleges District colleges. Our DREAMers are dedicated, as evidenced by their college retention rate of 88 percent and a course completion rate of 93 percent. A loss of those students and their families, specifically in the San Antonio region would impact the fabric of our community both economically and socially.

Example: Laura Franco attended Alamo Colleges District - San Antonio College. She followed a career pathway to Texas A&M University. Laura graduated at 25 with a master’s degree and is in the process of finishing a doctoral degree. She now works at the Mexican Consulate, where she is able to help other DREAMers improve their lives through education.

Additional Information

Federal Legislative Priorities Booklet (PDF)

Board of Trustees