Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Pennsylvania’s four-year public higher education system is unaffordable with the average student carrying $39,000 in debt. Accessibility to postsecondary education is even more difficult for the Commonwealth’s most economically disadvantaged students, even with financial assistance through things like Pell and PA State Grants.

Last year I introduced Senate Bill 377 that would create the Nellie Bly Scholarship Program for students attending a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) university. The program will provide a scholarship to full-time undergraduate students with a household income of under $104,800. Additionally, for the state’s most economically disadvantage students, the scholarship will include the tuition and fees gap not covered by a student’s Pell and PA State Grants.

I will once again be introducing a version of the Nellie Bly Scholarship Program, however, with some slight modifications. One of the biggest changes is that students attending a state community college will now also be eligible to receive a full scholarship for up to 8 full-time semesters who make a commitment to stay and work in the commonwealth for the same number of years they participate in the program. Priority will be given to students pursuing careers in education and health care. However, this new scholarship plan would be funded from a combination of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and the Race Horse Development Trust Fund.

This important scholarship program will serve nearly 44,000 students not only with tuition, but also with campus housing, books, school supplies, and other expenses. I hope you will join me in making higher education more attainable for our commonwealth’s students.