(Sacramento) â Students and parents joined Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Orange County), Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and members of the Assembly Budget and Higher Education Committees for a State Capitol news conference to announce a higher education budget package designed to reduce student debt and make college affordability a reality for millions of students.
âWe know there are students that are not only struggling to pay for their college but for their housing and for food,â said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. âThis is a serious crisis and we need to do more.â
âAs a member of the Higher Education Committee, I am going to do everything I can to keep this California promise, the California Dream, alive, - investing more in education and letting our students know there is a bright future ahead,â said Quirk-Silva.
The four components of the package are: Make Community Colleges âtuition freeâ for one year for any full time in-state student; Expand the successful âSuccess Grantsâ program for California Community College (CCC) students; Reject Governor Brownâs proposal to eliminate the âMiddle Class Scholarshipâ; and Create the âDegrees Not Debt Scholarshipâ to address non-tuition related costs associated with attending the UC or CSU.
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Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk represents the 65th Assembly District, which includes the Orange County communities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Palma, and Stanton.
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance will discuss and vote on these items at their hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, 2017.