One of my blog readers turned me on to this petition being circulated now until June.
Check out this proposed constitutional amendment, researched and written a year ago as part of a senior class project at Life Academy and Oakland Unity High School, that would make state university tuition-free for full-time, in-state students who maintain a 2.7 GPA or perform 70 hours of community service each year.
Californians who earn more than $250,000 a year in taxable income would subsidize this additional cost through higher income taxes.
The chances of the effort becoming more than a lesson in democracy, however, are slim at best.
"There has not, in the modern era, been a true grass-roots initiative that has made it to the ballot," said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego.
You can read more about it here.
And here is a direct link to the petition. Free Tuition, Sign the Petition!
I now have an 18-year-old registered voter in the family. Perhaps he'll sign it, too.
Has anyone heard anything about this and if so, please leave a comment.
Has anyone heard anything about this and if so, please leave a comment.
It's a beautiful idea and many countries offer free tuition but I can't imagine the USA approving such use of funds. Maybe via one of the US military colleges or "academies" like West Point or such. The military always has money, right!
ReplyDeleteI have not heard about this. However, one of the changes that Finland made that helped to bring them to the top in the International PISA tests in Science and math is that they outlawed private schools altogether and tuition is free from Kindergarten through University.So, I think this is a good idea and could gain traction over time.
ReplyDelete