GPSS-Backed Bill Helps Student-Parents

For some students, simply surviving on your own with meager resources can be a challenge. Now imagine trying to raise a child, while going to school and, in many cases, holding down a job.

The state's Childcare Matching Grant incentivizes low-income, nontraditional students to pursue higher education, offering a means to get out of their low-income situation and positively impact the state economy. However, current budget proposals would continue the suspension of one of the few programs that exists that benefit graduate and professional students.

GPSS has advocated for the restoration of this program. And so, GPSS proudly presents Senate Bill 5795, "Regarding funding higher education child care grants." (Pic of me dropping bill off in the hopper at right.)

This bill, whose prime sponsor is Senate Majority Leader Sen. Lisa Brown, re-directs money from unclaimed prize funds at the Lottery to match some of the dollars spent from student Services & Activities fees, enhancing existing child care programs for student-parents at four-year universities and community and technical colleges. SB 5795 is a way to specifically address the third highest barrier to timely completion of degree work at our campuses, childcare.

This bill would be a small partial match to the approximately $2 million already being spent on campuses using student fees to fund educational attainment for student-parents. Students have prioritized investing in student-parents. It’s time for the state to do the same.

The bill has 10 co-sponsors, including Sen. Brown, Ways & Means Chair Sen. Ed Murray, and Vice Chair Sen. Derek Kilmer. Also co-sponsoring is Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, whose bill originally created the Childcare Matching Grants Program.

If you would like to know more about the bill, what it does, and the program it impacts, click here for a one-sheeter.

MOVING FORWARD: The bill will be given a hearing in the coming weeks. We will need to present an airtight case on the need for and importance of this program.

In support of this bill, we need to pack our testimony full of student-parents who are willing to share their stories and support this bill. Will YOU get involved?

We are looking for student-parents to volunteer to:

• Share their stories and experience as a student-parent
• Testify in support of this bill
• Recruit other student-parents to participate

If you are interested, please contact Lauren Hipp at gpsspol@uw.edu by Friday, Feb. 18.

With your help, we can restore the essential state support for student-parents.