Why the Senate Higher Education Bill is Good News for Low-Income Adults–and How to Make it Even Better

The Higher Education Act (HEA) provides an annual $56 billion in financial assistance to students, many of whom are adults, and is by far the largest single source of federal funds for workforce development. On September 8, 2005, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee unanimously approved S. 1614, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize HEA. The Committee took the time to understand and address the particular barriers to college that confront low-income adults and other nontraditional students and, as a result, the bill eases those barriers in a number of ways.

To learn more, read this brief by Julie Strawn and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield.