Community and technical college faculty members are preparing for the legislative session in Olympia, and among the top priorities for the American Federation of Teachers of Washington is pay parity between adjunct or contingent professors and their full-time peers.

Jacqui Cain, contingent faculty at Pierce College and vice president for contingent faculty issues for the Federation, said some colleges are doing better on pay, but at others, adjunct professors make about half what full-time faculty make, doing the same work.

"We are having a hard time keeping contingent faculty in the workforce, and one of the number one reasons I hear is the fact that these jobs are not sustainable," Cain asserted. "A lot of the faculty start out doing this for a few years with the idea that it's going to result in full-time work. For many people, that just doesn't happen."

Cain pointed out because adjunct teaching jobs are low-paid, it also can hurt diversity in the profession. She stressed her organization will also be pushing lawmakers to approve more wraparound services for students and removing barriers for DACA students.

The pandemic has affected students' performance across the board. Cain noted it can be seen in lower test scores from high schoolers, who were relegated to remote classes. In light of this, her union would like to see free college tuition for students' first two years of school.

"Because of COVID, and because of the damage that was done to the educational experience, we're going to be advocating for free college for those students coming out," Cain emphasized. "So that they won't be disproportionately impacted by what we've gone through for the last two years, and can sort of make up that work."

Cain added the union has worked with a coalition of groups in the past in Olympia, including the Washington Education Association and the student-led Communities for Our Colleges. The legislative session starts in January.

Students are still struggling with learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A study from the research group NWEA showed 2022 test scores are not rebounding to the same level as they were pre-pandemic.

In New York, math scores declined sharply throughout the state, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Researchers said the issue goes beyond test scores. The study also found existing education inequities were amplified by the pandemic.

Elisa Villanueva Beard, CEO of Teach for America, said the learning loss is also the result of numerous issues coming to a head. She described it as trains on a collision course.

"On one train, we have children who are not well, both from a learning perspective and also from an overall wellness perspective," Villanueva Beard observed. "On another train, we have a teacher crisis happening where teachers are being asked to do more with less."

Villanueva Beard argued another issue is having an outmoded system which could not meet the moment. Some solutions she thinks will get kids back on track are hiring and retaining good teachers, and providing students with equitable learning opportunities, but noted a lack of innovation within the current education system could be a challenge.

Students have been facing problems with mental illness, due in part to the pandemic. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44% of students felt persistently sad or hopeless during the first two years of the pandemic.

Villanueva Beard is concerned it will affect children in the long term.

"We are living in a society where uncertainty is the only guarantee," Villanueva Beard asserted. "Our children actually need to be able to be creative, have very clear skills around reading and math computational thinking."

She added a community approach must be taken to ensure kids fully recover from the pandemic, in terms of social emotional health and educational skills.

Like other states, South Dakota has a program allowing high school students to take courses offered at universities and technical colleges. Now, there is a legislative plan to help ensure younger students get a chance to participate and get a head start on a career path.

Under South Dakota's dual-credit program, juniors and seniors can apply for state aid to defer the costs of courses like auto-body welding or accounting.

Rep. Kameron Nelson, D-Sioux Falls, has introduced a bill to expand aid to tenth graders. He said expenses for courses can be a barrier, and thinks students also deserve a chance to start collecting credits if they have a career in mind.

"A sophomore might be able to start this dual-credit program, collect credits by the time that they graduate from high school, receive and earn their associate's degree," Nelson explained.

He noted it could especially help in health care-related fields. It is projected South Dakota will need at least 14% more registered nurses to meet demand in the years ahead. Nelson's bill is seeing bipartisan support, in terms of sponsors, but no hearings have been scheduled.

Nelson acknowledged at the start, enrollment for sophomores would likely be lower than for other grade levels, but he noted the additional costs are forecast at around $900,000 if there's strong demand. He is convinced it would be a worthwhile investment for the state.

"Anytime we can invest in our young people to become more educated, I will always back that," Nelson emphasized.

South Dakota has a budget surplus of more than $400 million, but some leaders, including Gov. Kristi Noem, have a range of other ideas to put the money to use, including tax cuts.

Advocates for higher education in the Commonwealth will gather today to collaborate on how to use revenue generated by the Fair Share Amendment which has officially been signed into law.

Voters approved the creation of a surtax on million-dollar incomes to help pay for public education, but lawmakers must still guarantee how the money will be used.

Femi Stoltz, Massachusetts policy director for the nonprofit uAspire, said she hopes the funding will help lower costs for tuition and fees at state colleges, which have increased nearly 60% in the past two decades.

"This new funding revenue hopefully gives us the chance to be innovative, think outside the box and hopefully think of better ways to serve students," Stoltz stated.

Stoltz pointed out the cost of public college has risen faster here than in any other state, while the average student borrower in Massachusetts is burdened with nearly $32,000 in federal student loans.

The UMass system currently holds some $3 billion in debt itself, and at Mass State Colleges, it is more than $1 billion. It is estimated students pay more than $2,500 in annual fees just to help cover their school's debt.

Stoltz noted the MassGrant system, the state's largest need-based grant for students, is also grossly underfunded, leaving disadvantaged students with few pathways to earn a debt-free degree.

"That grant a couple decades ago used to cover about 80% of a student's tuition and fees at a public school, and now it covers about 8% of tuition and fees for a student in the UMass system," Stoltz explained.

Stoltz and other higher education advocates said Fair Share revenue could also go toward repairs of campus infrastructure, fair and equitable pay for all faculty and staff, and more hiring of desperately needed student counselors.

In one of the country's wealthiest states, Stoltz argued, there should be ample resources to ensure all students get the education they deserve.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.