Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to generously bolster state financial aid to California college students who are parents of dependent children – one of the most important pieces of his higher education plan – is facing strong opposition in the state Legislature.
The governor’s plan would have cost an estimated $96.7 million a year and provided student parents at state universities and community colleges up to $6,000 extra a year for living costs, books and child care on top of their regular tuition grants. About 29,000 students who are parents of dependent children could have received that extra help, according to Newsom’s proposal.
In his original budget presentation in January, Newsom described his proposal in the context of his other initiatives to expand early education and help working families. College students with dependent children, he said, “deserve a little relief, because they’re doing everything.” Later, he said of the proposed new aid: “I’m really excited about this. It’s a significant cost, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”
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