Oregon Senate passes bill to offer free community college next year

Alexandra Samuels | The University of Texas at Austin

Last week, Oregon legislators passed Senate Bill 81 -- or, the “Oregon Promise” -- to offer free community college to eligible in-state students.

According to CNN Money, qualified students must be Oregon residents and apply for state and federal grants first. In addition, students must apply to community college no more than six months after graduating and maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5. They also have to pay $50 to the community college per term. The state will cover the remainder of their tuition under these conditions.



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“Senate Bill 81 is an Oregon promise,” Sen. Mark Hass (D-Beaverton), chief advocate and architect of the bill, said in a news release. “We’re saying to our young people, if you finish high school, keep up your grades, and stay out of trouble, we promise to provide you with an opportunity to reach the middle class on your own.”

The bill will allot $10 million to at least 10,000 prospective college students, and give them the chance to go to college without accumulating student loan debt. Part-time students are also given the ability to get prorated grant amounts.

Under the program, students in college must maintain a 2.5 GPA and be enrolled at least part-time while they’re receiving state assistance.

Oregon is now the second state — after Tennessee — to pass a program that offers tuition-free access to community college. President Obama also expressed his support of free community college nationwide when he proposed a federal-state partnership in January 2015.



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But some Republicans are skeptical about the overall cost of nationwide community college because they believe it may be too expensive for taxpayers.

“Unless the president has a responsible plan to meet our existing commitments, he shouldn’t be making new promises the American people can’t afford,” Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said.

The White House, on the other hand, claims the proposal could reportedly help 9 million community college students and save full-time enrollees an average of $3,800 a year if every state participated.

“I definitely think this is a national conversation,” Hass said to ATTN:. “States are the laboratories of democracy; and after Oregon, I hope there’ll be other states that will follow suit, and pretty soon we can make this a national issue. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that an educated and well-trained workforce is a matter of national security.”

The bill is now set to go to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. If passed, the program will begin during the 2016-2017 school year.





Alex Samuels is a University of Texas at Austin student and USA TODAY College breaking news correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.