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June 9, 2022
Iris Palmer is quoted by The Hill regarding current free college plans and federal funding.
However, the reality of the federal government taking up free college proposals anytime soon appears bleak. First lady Jill Biden confirmed in February that the president’s proposal to make two years of community college free for eligible students did not garner enough Democratic votes to pass through the Senate.
Moving forward with a free college plan means Congress would need to make big structural changes to its existing education policy, and Iris Palmer, deputy director for community colleges with the Education Policy program at New America, told Changing America “there’s just not a political coalition that’s willing to put their money in this at the expense of some other things like climate change mitigation, early childhood education, childcare.
“We have a lot of problems in this country. And if you’re going to spend a ton of money and totally change the way we fund higher education, it needs to be behind some of these other really, really pressing priorities,” Palmer added.
Though free college is enticing to many Americans, it’s no longer a key focus of the Biden Administration. Currently, the president is zeroing in on student loan forgiveness and considering forgiving up to $10,000 per borrower.
Read the full article here.