A Santa Barbara County congressman has co-authored new legislation intended to beef up federal financial aid for college students.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal joined with a Democratic congressman from New Mexico to introduce what’s called the “CHANCE Act.”
The proposal calls for increasing the amount of federal Pell grants, which the legislators say haven’t kept up with rising college costs over the years. It would restore the availability of grants to help students taking summer classes. And, it would extend Pell grant eligibility from the current maximum of 12 semesters to 15 semesters.
Carbajal says the grants are not only important for students to complete their educations, but to do it without ending up with massive debt.
