Introduction of “PA Promise” Bills to Make College Affordable and Boost PA Economy

HARRISBURG — The Keystone Research Center and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center applaud the introduction of Senate Bill 1111 and House Bill 2444, legislation that would make college free and affordable for Pennsylvania students. Senator Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery), Representative James Roebuck (D-Philadelphia), and Representative Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) held a press conference this morning to introduce the legislation based largely on a plan jointly released by PBPC and KRC in January titled “The Pennsylvania Promise: Making College Affordable and Securing Pennsylvania’s Economic Future.”

“The global race for raising incomes and increasing opportunity hinges critically on access to post-secondary education and training,” said Diana Polson, report co-author and Policy Analyst for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. “If Pennsylvania does not expand access to higher education to more of its citizens, the Commonwealth’s economy will suffer and living standards will lag behind growth elsewhere.”

Currently per capita funding for higher education in Pennsylvania ranks 47th out of 50 states. The increase in state spending required under the Pennsylvania Promise would raise Pennsylvania’s rank to 36th.

There is a pressing need for reinvestment in post-secondary education and training in Pennsylvania, as laid out in previous issue briefs available here, here and here. The funding situation is dire:

• Thirty-five years of state disinvestment have left Pennsylvania ranked worst in the nation when it comes to higher education, sunk in the rankings by students’ high debt at graduation and the state’s high tuition and fees, according to U.S. News and World Report.
• The state ranks 40th for the share of adults 25-64 with an education beyond high school.
• In over half of Pennsylvania counties (35), the share of adults with more than a high-school degree is lower than in any of the 50 states (i.e., lower than West Virginia’s 48.1%).
• A large body of economic research shows that lagging educational attainment translates to lower wages and incomes for individuals and slower economic growth for regions.

The Wall Street Journal has already labeled rural America the “new inner city,” the nation’s most troubled regions. Rural Pennsylvania has so far escaped the downward spiral of some parts of West Virginia and Kentucky. But if Pennsylvania’s rural counties remain higher education deserts, it would guarantee their accelerating decline over the next generation.

“This legislation lowers the cost of college, not just for students attending community colleges, but also those attending four-year universities. That combined with scholarships to extend assistance for room and board to middle and lower-income families makes this ground breaking legislation. Anyone who cares about Pennsylvania, particularly those parts of the state underserved by affordable, accessible higher education, should be leading the charge for Pennsylvania to enact the Pennsylvania Promise as proposed in SB 1111 and HB 2444,” said report co-author Mark Price, Labor Economist for the Keystone Research Center.