.jpg)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Camila Gallardo
(305) 215-4259
cgallardo@nclr.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last Friday, President Barack Obama announced his intention to introduce legislation to Congress that would make a two-year college education free to students across the nation. Under his proposal, similar to successful programs in states like Tennessee and the city of Chicago, students who maintain a grade point average of 2.5 and are working toward enrollment in a four-year college would have the cost of their two-year community college education paid for by the federal government and their respective states—given their particular state has opted into the program.
“Since its inception, NCLR (National Council of La Raza), has worked to expand opportunities for Latinos in the United States and we learned early on that there is perhaps no more critical an element in elevating our community than ensuring their access to quality education,” said NCLR Senior Vice President Delia Pompa. “For decades, many Latino students have been kept from realizing their dream of higher education because of economic limitations. For many who have considered taking out students loans, the thought of graduating with mountains of debt and decades of loan repayment have dissuaded them from taking that step to enroll in a two- or four-year program.”
“Ensuring that we are doing our best to prepare the nation’s future generations for an increasingly global marketplace is critical not only to their individual success but to the nation’s ability to remain competitive and for the economy to continue to grow and flourish. Universal community college is a big step in that direction. We look forward to hearing additional details of the president’s plan and encourage our elected leaders to work together to expand opportunities in higher education,” concluded Pompa.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
###