(SACRAMENTO)—The California State Assembly Democratic Caucus today announced new legislation creating the Middle Class Scholarship program. Designed to cut college costs by 2/3 for middle class families, the proposal would be funded by closing a $1 billion tax loophole benefiting out-of-state corporations. Assemblymember Luis A. Alejo (D-Salinas) is a CoAuthor of the legislation.
For the past decade, the price of a California college education has been accelerating at a rate must faster than inflation. The ever increasing cost of fees and tuition at California Community Colleges (CCC), California State Universities (CSU), and the University of California system (UC) has forced students to take on excessive debt or worse, give up the promise of higher education altogether.
California’s system of community colleges, CSUs and UCs are there to provide a world class education, but this is slowly becoming something middle-income families cannot afford. Expanding college opportunity is essential for developing a highly trained workforce and necessary for bringing good jobs back to California.
“We have a moral obligation to make our higher education opportunities affordable,” said Alejo. “If you graduate from high-school, then you should have the right to go to college. The Middle Class Scholarship makes great strides toward ensuring the college dream for our best and brightest students.”
Under the new Middle Class Scholarship proposal, students at UCs and CSUs with family incomes of less than $150,000, whose student fees are not already covered, will see them reduced by 2/3. This would save $4,000 for 150,000 CSU families and $8,169 for 42,000 UC families, each year. CCCs will receive $150 million to spend on reducing student fees and providing grants to students for books and other educational expenses.
This effort will require a 2/3 vote of the Legislature, which means some Republican legislators will have to join Democrats in supporting the plan.
More information can be found at www.middleclassscholarship.com.
Luis Alejo represents the 28th District in the California State Assembly, which consists of San Benito County, the Salinas Valley, North Monterey County, South Santa Clara County and the city of Watsonville.
Contact: Sasha Horwitz, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (916) 319-2028
