Bill Calls for State to Pick Up College Costs for High School Students
A West Michigan lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday that would allow students to head to college campuses or training programs at the state's expense.
Jim Jacobs, an associate director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, is leading a study to research ways to make college credits more available to high school students. He said his group is finding that the states with the most success expose students who normally wouldn't go to college to the college experience. Those states also encourage more collaboration between K-12 systems and higher education.
Jacobs also said that the West Michigan lawmaker's bill appears unlikely to follow the patterns of successful states, since it would take school districts' money away, ending any collaboration, and would tend to help higher achievers only. Those kids generally go to college anyway, he said.
This article, written by Judy Putnam, appeared in the March 22nd publication of MLive.com.
Published Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2006