Pell Grants

Pell Grants as we know them may soon become even more beneficial to the students of today, and tomorrow. The Presidential State of the Union address of January 2008 has President Bush announcing the continuation of plans to expand the Pell Grant program in order to reach out to the younger students of our country that may not have access to the same standards of education as those in well-to-do neighborhoods. The contribution of the Pell Grants for Kids program is expected to reach $300 million, and may have a significant effect on the current loan industry.

While the public may be fundamentally approving of the use of these funds in this manner, questions continue to arise concerning the ability of the parents to provide the remainder of tuition fees when the grants are not able to cover the entire amount. The assistance may open the door to some; it is not going to be an across-the-board solution to education in our country.

Families with children surviving on extremely low incomes are going to see the opportunity to avoid the schools that have not performed well on state evaluations. These places are not able to offer comparatively equal educations; therefore many parents would like to find other options for schooling their youngsters. The grants are designed to assist those families in furthering their children’s’ educations, and create opportunity for those at an economic disadvantage.

Pell Grants for Kids would work in much the same way as the general college Pell Grants. These would be gifted to families in need of assistance. The determination of need, though, would also require an evaluation of the student’s current educational opportunities, as well as opportunities available elsewhere that are feasible to travel to and from.

Students that are currently attending a school with poor ratings will automatically qualify for the Pell Grants for Kids program. Poor ratings for a period of 5 years, or fewer than 60% graduation rates will then prove eligible each and every student in the school. This opens the program to many more people than there are applying for college Pell Grants.

The logistics of these grants, however, have not been clearly calculated. Envision an entire school population that is suddenly eligible to move to nearby private schools and parochial schools to gain their education. The large number of students qualifying for assistance would then turn the program into seemingly a “voucher” program for a significant number of students.

This concept does not sit well with many citizens, and they may not initially support the change. It would basically limit the funding being offered to public education facilities, and instead be supporting private and parochial schools.

Each student that qualifies for this program would then lessen the overall amount available per child. The many public schools having trouble meeting standards of education would continue to fail those students that are not capable of switching schools, and they will continue to operate with even less money than they had before.

As for the individual family receiving the grant, they would likely need to secure further funding elsewhere to cover the complete cost of attendance at a private school. This would compound the current loan crisis, and send many more families into financial nightmares trying to repay high-interest loans while they exist in low-income conditions already.

Critics do not believe the program adequately addresses the issues facing public education institutions. The President, however, believes the program will provide more educational opportunities in areas where it is badly needed. It remains to be seen if Congress will support the program.