Sen. Susan Collins (R) has joined forces with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in leading a bipartisan group of senators, including Sen. Angus King (I), in urging the federal government to “revise and reissue those applications” for a federal education grant program.
According to the coalition, U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Linda McMahon made significant changes to the guiding principles of the Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) grant competitions.
Generally speaking, TRIO Programs are “Federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Under this umbrella are eight separate programs “targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs.”
The Talent Search program is described as “identif[ying] and [assisting] individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education” to finish high school and pursue postsecondary and training opportunities.
The EOC grant competition is designed to “[provide] information regarding financial and academic assistance available for qualified individuals” seeking postsecondary education, aid in their applications, and improve their “financial and economic literacy.”
The senators argue that the new grant structure “reflects a dramatic shift in the programs’ missions and redirects funds from the core purpose of TRIO’s Talent Search and EOC programs.”
They raise concerns in their letter to the Education Secretary that the new structure “greatly disadvantage[s] current grantees” by opening up eligibility to certain state agencies and failing to guarantee that current, well-performing grantees will receive renewals of at least equal value to their prior award, as is standard practice for TRIO programs.
At the close of their letter, the coalition asked that the DOE provide a year’s extension to all existing awards to allow adequate time for “these challenges to be addressed,” noting that there is precedent for doing so.
“We all care about America’s students – and particularly those from low-income families who seek to change the economic trajectories of their families,” the senators said. “Let us work together to avoid irreversible damage to the students, families, and communities that rely on these critical programs.”
Also signing onto the letter were Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dick Durbin (D-IL), James Lankford (R-OK), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
