A new report from The Sycamore Institute reveals the persistent challenge of college affordability in Tennessee. Despite state and federal aid programs, many students still struggle to cover the costs of higher education.
Brian Straessle, executive director of the institute, said maintaining scholarships is a challenge for some students because of academic, service or renewal requirements. He pointed out students often drop out due to housing costs, food insecurity and transportation issues.
"There are also sort of cost of living challenges frequently where housing, obviously across the board, across the country, has gotten a lot more expensive," Straessle observed. "Some of these scholarship programs, they won't pay for living expenses. They will only pay for tuition and fees."
According to the report, Tennessee's postsecondary education costs vary widely by institution type. For the 2023-2024 school year, average costs ranged from more than $21,000 at public two-year colleges to more than $44,000 at private four-year institutions.
Straessle emphasized the availability of state resources and scholarships that students can access to assist with college expenses.
"Some of the biggest ones are like the HOPE scholarship that, if you're going straight from high school to undergrad, that can pay a significant chunk of your costs," Straessle outlined. "Then there's Tennessee Promise, which gets a lot of headlines, which is what they call a last-dollar scholarship."
Straessle stressed the importance of obtaining a college degree significantly affects job opportunities, earnings and overall well-being for Tennesseans.
"For most people, going to college is going to pay off in terms of your lifelong earning potential, your health and well-being being improved over the course of your life," Straessle emphasized. "Just the opportunities that are available to you, having that degree or certificate."
The report cited an estimate in 2021, 59% of "good jobs" in Tennessee, those paying at least $39,400 for ages 25-44 and $50,700 for ages 45-64 required a bachelor's degree, a figure projected to rise to 66% by 2031.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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By Lauren Cohen / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.
S.B. 109, a bill that would provide free breakfast and lunch to public and chartered nonpublic Ohio school students, currently sits in the Senate's Finance Committee amid the state budget process.
If included in the budget, due July 1, $300 million would be allocated to the program. Ohio Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid), who co-sponsors the bill, said feedback has been positive, but this bill is fairly expensive.
"Every one of these kids has just great potential, and we should be investing in them," Smith said. "Giving all Ohio public school kids a free, healthy, nutritious breakfast and lunch is going to help - it's going to put money back in mom and dad's pockets."
Free school meals became widespread during COVID-19
Household food insecurity affected 17.9% of U.S. households with children in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Also in 2023, 7.2 million children lived in households where children and adults were food insecure.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a March 2020 federal waiver allowed all schools to offer free meals to students regardless of income.
Nick Bates, director of Hunger Network in Ohio, a faith-based network of advocates, said universal school meals during the pandemic "helped kids have a sense of stability during a chaotic time. It helped kids be more focused in class, and it improved the classroom dynamic for kids to be able to learn."
Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, also said he felt the program had great results.
"I think we did have some reversion when students who had been given access to school meals no longer had that," he said. "I think there are concerns that then we're back to where we were before, where you had more kids who were showing up to school hungry and therefore not able to focus as much on their learning."
Many states extended the program after the COVID-19 waiver was rescinded in 2022. Today, eight have implemented free and healthy school meal programs, and there are active campaigns to do so in 13 states.
In the last Ohio general assembly, eligibility for reduced-price meals was increased up to 185% of the federal poverty level, which made more students qualify.
During the summer of 2024, the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer was implemented through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give families $120 per student to buy groceries during the summer. The program is still ongoing, although the Trump administration continues to cut funding to federal programs.
"Sometimes things are done in steps, but as long as we are constantly striving to answer that question, 'how can we make sure everybody is fed?' - that is the direction we need to be going in," Bates said.
Free meals easier for students and administrators, advocates say
Some districts, like Akron Public Schools, operate under the Community Eligibility Provision, a U.S. Department of Agriculture free meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas.
Laura Kepler, coordinator of child nutrition for Akron Public Schools and a registered dietitian, said her district's free meals program has been in place since 2012.
"No student needs to worry about a forgotten packed lunch or not having money for lunch," Kepler said. "It's accessible to all students equally, so there's no discrimination of students that would not anyway be required to pay for lunch."
She said it removes administrative burdens as well, like having to collect meal applications and income information annually.
With a quick process because students don't have to fumble with money, she said it also leads to "less stress, especially, as you know, in the middle school and high schools, where people become aware of who has money and maybe who doesn't, or different poverty statuses."
DiMauro said the bill would remove social issues students may face around mealtimes.
"One of the things that this does is it takes away the stigma that is often attached with being labeled as someone who's eligible for free or reduced price meals," he said. "[It] just makes it a whole lot easier for schools to administer school meal programs."
He said that because students spend more of their waking time in school than anywhere else, other than home, this bill is important to meet their needs.
Bates said when students are fed, they're more likely to focus.
"When you walk into one of these committee hearing rooms and look at all the legislators around 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, and they haven't had their lunch yet, you start to see their eyes drooping and their focus begins to sway away from the testimony in front of them," he said. "It's the same with our kids ... kids, if they're hungry, aren't focused on the material in front of them."
Implementation depends on budget concerns
Smith said he has been doing whatever he can to find bipartisan approaches to this goal. The bill's co-sponsor is Republican Sen. Louis Blessing (R-Colerain Township), who was not available for comment.
There are federal dollars available to pay for some of these meals, Smith said, and state money would cover the rest of the cost. But, he said there are concerns about whether the bill will end up in the state's budget.
DiMauro said he feels the bill requires a relatively modest ask compared to some of the other proposed budget items.
"The legislature right now is considering providing a $600 million-plus subsidy for the Cleveland Browns to build a new stadium - this is half that cost," he said.
For families, struggling to manage the costs of paying for school lunches, electric bills, rent and extra emergencies is "kind of a house of cards," Bates said. He likened free meals to school buses, which make school days easier for parents and kids alike.
"We often will fund school transportation because we recognize that school buses need to be fueled up to be able to get kids from their home to their school building," he said. "It should also be a necessity that kids are fueled up and they are ready to learn as well."
DiMauro said the bill, by itself, wouldn't solve all problems. He suggested combining universal school meals with after-school, summer and weekend programming where students can take meals home with them.
"Every one of those pieces is an essential part of the puzzle," he said. "So it doesn't solve the entire issue of childhood hunger by itself, but it goes a long way."
This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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President Donald Trump's executive order dismantling diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs has led to the defunding of Kutztown University's NASA program for STEM students.
Kutztown was one of only eight schools nationwide selected last fall for NASA's Here to Observe program.
Kutztown Professor of Physical Sciences Erin Kraal, PhD, said they were told their program violated DEI rules.
But she said the program follows the law and is open to all students, especially those who face challenges and might not normally have such opportunities.
"What I want to emphasize is that our program was focused on providing opportunities to our Kutztown students," said Kraal, "and that the NASA H2O program let us do that in a way where financial need would not be a barrier."
She said they received a five-year, $375,000 NASA grant that would have reached about 70 first-year Kutztown students. The program started in the fall but was canceled after only three months.
Kraal - who is also the faculty director for the Center for Engaged Learning - said about 60% of the first group of students are freshmen majoring in fields such as physics, engineering, astronomy, computer science, and chemistry.
She added that they had only about $1,500 in allowable expenses, and that neither she nor the other faculty members will be paid for their work.
"Our students were supposed to receive a stipend because they were participating in something beyond their normal classwork," said Kraal. "The stipends were not awarded through NASA, so we were terminated in March, and we have appealed that. However, we've received no information about that appeal."
She pointed out that Kutztown University stepped in along with the provost and president to provide some transition funding to help with emergency expenses.
However, a planned trip to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference had to be canceled.
Despite these setbacks, students are still connecting with NASA mentors and learning about Mars, mission design, ethics, and storytelling.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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Jude Bruno, president-elect of the Florida Parent Teacher Association, is leading a charge against two controversial education bills which would reshape the state's school system, even as Republican lawmakers tout the measures as expanding parental choice.
The legislative battle comes in what is supposed to be the session's final week, with high stakes for public school funding and governance. His organization opposes House Bill 123, which would permit municipal charter schools to bypass local district oversight, arguing it creates unequal standards for taxpayer-funded institutions.
"We are not against charter schools but we are against mechanisms and rules that would circumvent the governance of our local public schools and our communities," Bruno explained.
The bill's companion, Senate Bill 140, which passed the Senate 30-7 last week, would allow traditional public schools to convert to charter schools with approval from 50% of parents, while explicitly excluding teachers and staff from the voting process. Supporters argued the measures empower families, particularly in underserved communities.
The PTA is raising concerns about proposed budget reductions, which could affect mental health services for students and funding for advanced academic programs. Bruno stressed the growing need for student support services.
"Even coming off the pandemic, we realize how important it is that we address the social and emotional needs of our students," Bruno emphasized. "That can only be effectively done by having licensed practitioners in that field be in our schools."
The PTA's legislative priorities come amid a broader debate over education funding that has pitted parent groups against lawmakers supporting school choice initiatives.
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