Accessing Higher Education Opportunities Act

Floor Speech

I rise in support of H.R. 5529, the Accessing Higher Education Opportunities Act. I would like to thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Heck) for bringing this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, over the last 20 years, we have seen great growth in the number of Hispanic students attending institutions of higher education, particularly Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs.

In 1990, there were only 135 colleges and universities with a Hispanic population over 25 percent. Today there are more than 400. From 2012 to 2013, nearly 60 percent of Hispanic college students attended an HSI, and these institutions were responsible for graduating 40 percent of all Hispanics in the country. My district is home to two large Hispanic-Serving Institutions: The University of California- Riverside and Riverside City College.

Title V of the Higher Education Act supports critical resources for HSIs like these, improving their ability to promote student success. The bill we are considering today, H.R. 5529, allows title V grant funds to be used to expand access to dual or concurrent enrollment programs offered through HSIs. Dual and concurrent enrollment models, programs that allow high school students to take postsecondary level courses for credit, can produce a number of benefits for students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds and first-generation college students.

Research shows that these programs increase high school completion, college enrollment, college persistence, and degree attainment. Furthermore, roughly 30 percent of dual and concurrent enrollment programs are career and technical education focused, which offers students the opportunity to earn credit toward a certificate or credential that prepares them for college and career success.

Unfortunately, tuition and classroom material costs remain a barrier to enrollment in these successful models for many low-income students. It is my hope that H.R. 5529 will expand access to these programs at Hispanic-Serving Institutions in my district and across the country. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5529.
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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, I would like to again thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Heck), my friend, for bringing this bill forward. I would like to thank Chairman Kline, Ranking Member Scott, and Mr. Hinojosa, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, for their work on this bill.

I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 5529.

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