Education – Page 5

Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit

Problem

College tuition at both public and private institutions had exploded, and student loans now exceeded credit card bills or auto loans when it comes to household debt. In fact, Connecticut has the highest student debt per capita in the country, averaging over $30,000 per head. Relatedly, our state is suffering from a brain drain, with highly-skilled graduates leaving Connecticut to start their careers elsewhere. Businesses that have left this state regularly cite the challenge recruiting a talented workforce when explaining their decision to pack their bags.

My co-sponsors and I each represent moderate districts, and we knew that Connecticut couldn’t afford to abolish trillions of dollars of debt with the snap of a finger. So we decided to try something new. We believed that addressing the student loan crisis wasn’t just the right thing to do for young people—it was a necessary component of reviving our economy.

Solution

Together, we drafted and passed SB 72, a corporate tax credit for any business that helped to pay off their employees’ student loans. In short, companies that hire recent graduates can reduce their tax liability by helping to pay back the loans of their employees. The credit is capped at $5,250 per year, to sync with a federal tax benefit available to employers. Republicans loved the bill because it cut taxes for businesses. Democrats loved it because it helped young people afford their college degrees and stay in Connecticut. Realtors helped push it over the finish line, citing evidence that student loan debt delays the purchase of a first home in Connecticut by an average of seven years. SB 72 was approved in the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis.

SLC Digital Equity

Problem

The pandemic brought to light the importance of broadband access to essential daily tasks. This was especially the case as schools were forced to go virtual and families struggled to navigate online education for the first time. Salt Lake City students from low-income families, many of whom lack quality broadband access, a computer or both, were the most impacted as traditional community resources such as libraries and public access computer labs were also forced to close due to the pandemic. A recent study by Michigan State University found that students who do not have access to the Internet from home or rely solely on cellular data perform lower on a range of metrics, including homework completion and grade point average (half a letter grade lower). Bridging this technology gap will increase digital literacy and improve student achievements in Salt Lake City.

Solution

The Digital Equity Policy of Salt Lake City was adopted on September 1, 2020 to address the imbalances related to digital equity. Two of the policy’s targeted action items called for increasing access to affordable broadband services and reliable devices. Salt Lake City is doing this through a program known as City Connect which activates public wifi hotspots in community centers and parks throughout the City and provides surplus computers to low-income students and families. Additionally, through a public-private partnership with Comcast “Lift Zones”, Salt Lake City is able to bring high quality broadband service to our community learning centers and facilities supporting our Youth and Family programs.

Save up with BottleDrop

Problem

The costs associated with post-secondary education and training programs remain a major factor limiting economic mobility. For families with low- or moderate incomes —and especially people of color—the goal of sending kids to college seems financial unattainable.

Solution

We entered into a partnership with BottleDrop, the private industry operator of Oregon’s “Bottle Bill”. Nearly every beverage container sold in Oregon carries a deposit of $0.10, becoming a $0.10 refund when a bottle or can is returned. Containers are frequently returned in “green bags” and dropped off at grocery stores or redemption centers. Nearly 1 in 3 Oregon households has a BottleDrop account, around 800,000 households. The demographics of this program swing toward middle and lower income.
The Oregon Bottle Bill was passed 50 years ago, making Oregon the first state with a bottle redemption system aimed at reducing litter (~85% of cans and bottles sold in Oregon are returned for redemption).
Participants can opt to receive cash, but the program was expanded to provide discounts at certain stores and to allow for participants to direct their redemptions to charitable organizations.
The newest option is Save up with BottleDrop which allows participants to direct their redemptions into their Oregon College Savings Plan account. For participants this simply means filling up one of the signature green bags with containers and dropping it off. The funds ($0.10 per container) will be automatically transferred to the college savings plan(s) connected with the account.
The partnership leverages existing incentives to recycle to create a low-friction way to save for post-secondary education.

Opportunity Changes Everything: Realizing the College Dream for Oakland Youth

Problem

Gentrification and systemic racism are major obstacles to college and career success for many Medi-Cal eligible families in Oakland. Before the COVID-19 crisis, only 15% of Oakland students who started 9th grade completed college five years after high school graduation. Over the past year, the pandemic has further exacerbated access to educational and economic opportunities for deserving BIPOC youth, and Black males in particular: according to data released by the National Student Clearinghouse in November 2020, colleges saw a decline of 7.5% in enrollment for Black students, the highest of any other group. Furthermore, 56% of Black students who remained enrolled in college said it was “likely” or “very likely” that the pandemic would affect their ability to persist.

Solution

Through targeted interventions across the cradle-to-career continuum, Oakland Promise supports students furthest from opportunity by building pathways to postsecondary education, improving school climate, and tackling intergenerational poverty. Oakland Promise is available to young learners and their families who reside in Oakland. Our mission is to advance equity and economic mobility through cradle-to-college and career achievement. Our student and family facing services are unique because they start earlier and go later than those of other Promise programs. We offer every child the financial resources, support, mentorship, and incentives they need from birth and throughout their school years to empower them to seek out and thrive in the higher education and career of their choosing. Through programs targeted at each stage of a young person’s development, we offer College Savings Accounts, Oakland Promise Scholarships, guidance for students and parents, and other critical resources to encourage students to develop their college and vocational bound identity and persistence. Our holistic educational supports blend asset building with scholarships and additional resources as part of our programmatic continuum from birth to college and career.

MGM Codes

Problem

Many public school students are not receiving adequate skills training to compete in the 21st century tech economy.

Solution

The city is partnering with Apple, Montgomery Public Schools and a non-profit organization, Ed Farm, to offer intensive coding curriculum and education to all middle school students and teachers. Students are offered three to six week camps to learn coding concepts, and 20 teachers will begin professional development to earn tech certifications. The partnership is also offering devices to ensure all students have a tablet.

Expanding Access to Computer Science Education

Problem

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 67% of new jobs in STEM are in computing, jobs that also happen to be some of the highest-paying and fastest-growing in the country. Yet only 11% of STEM bachelor’s degrees are in computer science, leading to a massive workforce shortage. Many students lack access to computer science curriculum and less than half of U.S. schools teach computer science courses.

Solution

State governments should adopt policies that require middle and/or high schools to offer at least one foundational computer science course.

Early Learning Training Institute

Problem

Parents cannot work if their children don’t have child care, and our child care industry is in crisis. The business model doesn’t work. Parents of young children are least able to pay what the teachers and caregivers of their kids deserve to be paid. We know these are the most important years of learning for young brains – and we should be paying these teachers and caregivers accordingly. Today the average child care worker gets paid $16,000-$24,000 a year, less than a barista at Starbucks. Child care centers simply cannot survive without some way to recruit and retain their workforce through salary and training supports.

Solution

The Early Learning Training Institute will leverage state and federal dollars to increase pay for child care workers with a commensurate increase in training, professional development and a real career/articulation path for these teachers and caregivers.

Disrupting Generational Illiteracy by Implementing Imagination Libraries

Problem

In 2014, nearly 43 million adult Americans possessed low literacy rates with 8 million adults reading at a third grade level. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a catastrophic rise in illiteracy rates among youth in the U.S. The guidelines issued by the government and public health institutions pushed millions of students out of school disrupting their education and forcing schools to redesign how to teach in a virtual world. This drastically changed literacy rates in the first few months of the pandemic, but the long term effects could have even more drastic results.

Solution

The solution to low literacy rates is to proactively disrupt generational illiteracy through government opt-in programs such as an imagination library. An imagination library is a free book gifting program that sends high quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income. This helps students in underserved communities that don’t have access to resources. Requiring state and local governments to offer imagination libraries would help prepare the next generation if another pandemic were to happen.

901 Student Passport – A Local Getaway for Students and Families

Problem

The fight to slow the spread of COVID-19 resulted in communities across the country sheltering in place for weeks and months throughout much of 2020. No one felt the impact of this intervention more than small children and the parents left to stimulate them. In Shelby County, TN, most schools were abruptly shuttered after Spring Break. Parks and recreational facilities were closed for several months. Summer camps canceled off-site activities, families halted playdates, and, when school began in the fall, most local school systems kept students at home to learn virtually.

At the same time, local galleries and museums were revamping how visitors could tour their spaces while reducing contamination from COVID-19. Despite their best efforts, tourism was at record-low levels and most non-profit boards reported fears that they might shut down permanently due to reductions in attendance and philanthropic support.

Solution

In Summer 2020, the Shelby County Mayor’s Office created the community’s first-of-its-kind “901 Student Passport.” The program was a collaboration between local government and eight arts, culture, and historical institutions across Shelby County. Each institution received a $30,000 economic stipend to allow every school-age child and their parents to receive free admission through the end of the first semester of school. Parents could download and print a Student Passport or pick up one from every local library in the County.

Upon visiting a location, the Passport received a special stamp. After earning a stamp at each local destination, families mailed or emailed their completed passports to the Mayor’s Office to receive a congratulatory gift box that included items to exercise their bodies and minds. Each box included a colorful puzzle game, durable jump rope, journal, and a personal note from Mayor Lee Harris.

Closing Colorado’s Digital Divide

This week, NewDEAL Leader Colorado Senator Jeff Bridges’ bill to invest in internet access was signed into law. With the pandemic adding urgency to the necessity for access to high-speed reliable internet to participate in economic activities, education, telehealth, and more, Bridges’ bill provides $75 million to connect unserved and underserved communities, including $20 million specifically set aside for the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Tribes. Learn more about how this funding increases equity, and keep an eye out for information on similar topics from the NewDEAL Forum Broadband Task Force.

Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit

Problem

Solution

SLC Digital Equity

Problem

Solution

Save up with BottleDrop

Problem

Solution

Opportunity Changes Everything: Realizing the College Dream for Oakland Youth

Problem

Solution

MGM Codes

Problem

Solution

Expanding Access to Computer Science Education

Problem

Solution

Early Learning Training Institute

Problem

Solution

Disrupting Generational Illiteracy by Implementing Imagination Libraries

Problem

Solution

901 Student Passport – A Local Getaway for Students and Families

Problem

Solution

Closing Colorado’s Digital Divide

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