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posted by n1 on Friday April 18 2014, @08:08AM   Printer-friendly
from the gambling-with-education dept.

Alternet reports on eduction reform in Tennessee.

The Tennessee House and Senate have approved a measure that allows for two free years of tuition at community colleges or technical schools for all the state's high school graduates. The proposal not only has the backing of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, it was based on his idea.

Moreover, the legislation passed by an overwhelming majority. The state's House of Representatives voted in favor of the legislation with a 87-8 margin.

When the plan, called Tennessee Promise, becomes law, [it] should provide free higher education for about 25,000 students in the state beginning in 2015. It will only benefit incoming freshmen. College sophomores attending two year schools in 2015 will not be able to participate in the plan, but will still be eligible for other state financial aid programs.

The estimated cost of the program is $34 [million] annually. Money will be transferred from the proceeds of the Tennessee Lottery to create an endowment for the program.

A similar proposal in 2007 failed.

In 1960, California was the first state to suspend college tuition. After President Reagan's cuts, the state dropped that program in 1984. Despite that, California's public colleges still have the lowest tuition rates in the country.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by evilviper on Friday April 18 2014, @08:36AM

    by evilviper (1760) on Friday April 18 2014, @08:36AM (#33005) Homepage Journal

    Party polities only gets really nasty at the national level. As long as he doesn't have ambitions for the presidency, I don't expect any problems. The more local you get, the more individual personal traits, and actions trump dogma.

    I typically vote democrat, but there are plenty of cases where some friends or family have gotten caught-up with some government agency misbehaving, and contacting a local (sometimes Republican) representative has gotten some bureaucrat's ass chewed-out at over the phone at 2am, and the problem very quickly resolved. That kind of simple action (or inaction), as far as officials actually doing their stated job, easily trumps political affiliations.

    --
    Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday April 18 2014, @12:32PM

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday April 18 2014, @12:32PM (#33038)

    It depends a lot on where in the country you're living. For every Jon Huntsman (a moderate get-things-done kind of guy), there's a Chris Christie (a not-at-all-moderate, petty partisan bully).

    Also, even if things are going well at the state level, as soon as the state becomes important to the national parties they can bring a lot of stupid politicking with them.

    --
    "Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin