Standing Up For Wisconsin Students: Support for the Working Student Act and the CTE Opportunity Act

After meeting with students and recent graduates in Wisconsin who are struggling with the cost of a higher education, Tammy introduced two bills to help address student loan debt and college affordability.

• The Working Student Act targets students who work their way through school to allow them to complete their degrees more quickly and with less debt. The bill increases the amount working students can earn without that income counting against them in accessing need-based federal financial aid. Click here for more info on this bill.

• The CTE Opportunity Act extends eligibility for federal loans to students in short-term Career and Technical Education programs, increasing access to courses that provide students with the industry-recognized credentials that employers are looking for. Click here for more info on this bill.

Both bills have received support in Wisconsin and across the country. Check out what education leaders are saying in support of the Working Student Act:

"Students – sacked with spiraling college costs and crippling student debt – should be able to work their way through college without penalty. But, as it stands now, the small income they earn unjustly decreases access to need-based student aid. Senator Baldwin's bill addresses this absurdity. All working students deserve equitable access to federal aid."
Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers

"With students all over the nation juggling work and school in order to cover college costs, it is about time that someone took action to ensure that that hard work pays off. Senator Baldwin's Working Student Act is aimed at a serious problem that creates disincentives for work while also making college less affordable. Her plan is long overdue, and should be passed quickly to ensure that more students can use their work earnings to finance a college degree."
Sara Goldrick-Rab
Founding Director, Wisconsin Hope Lab
Professor of Educational Policy Studies & Sociology, University Wisconsin-Madison

“Working students are doing double duty when they hit the books and punch the clock. The Working Student Act will ensure that hard-working students are not penalized for being diligent in earning the money they need to further their educations and careers. This Act will allow low-income working students to keep more of their wages to support their families and still be eligible for the financial aid they need to meet the growing costs of college.”
David J. Socolow
Director of the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

“"Raising the Income Protection Allowance is a commonsense approach that will greatly assist our hard working students with the most financial need. It’s not uncommon to see students work their way either completely out of Pell Grant eligibility or reduce their eligibility substantially by the time they are seniors. It is a frustrating cycle resulting in a need for more work which then lowers grant eligibility again. This bill ends this cycle and provides the needed assistance to those students who are working to help finance their college education.”
Susan Fischer
Director of Financial Aid, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Cuts in financial aid and tuition hikes are endangering access to higher education for prospective students and piling debt on those already in school. Senator Baldwin's Working Student Act is a simple reform that will stop punishing hardworking students for being hard-working. It's a welcome bit of good news in the fight to put the brakes on a student loan debt crisis spiraling out of control.”
Scott Ross
Executive Director, One Wisconsin Now

Support for the CTE Opportunity Act includes:

“The CTE Opportunity Act will help students access federal loans to complete certificate and other short-term programs, making it more feasible for working adults and other non-traditional students to return to school and improve their skills. The limited financial resources of WTCS students means that the costs of earning credentials can be a major barrier.  Therefore, any federal effort to expand financial aid availability (both grants and loans) for WTCS students will help improve Wisconsin’s economy.”
Morna K. Foy
President, Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS)

“The CTE Opportunity Act showcases the commitment that ACTE’s partners in the Senate CTE Caucus have to America’s CTE students, and we appreciate their efforts on this important initiative. By giving postsecondary CTE students pursuing shorter-term programs equal access to crucial federal aid programs, this bill will ensure more students have the resources they need to obtain education and training for in-demand careers.”
LeAnn Wilson
Executive Director, Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)

“This legislation is a promising step towards ensuring equitable access to federal financial aid programs for postsecondary Career Technical Education students. As our nation works to educate and train students of today for the jobs of tomorrow, it is critical that we afford them the necessary resources to complete education and training programs that are most demanded by employers.”
Kimberly Green
Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc)

More information on Tammy’s efforts to address college affordability here.