Non-tuition college costs such as food, housing, and transportation place additional burdens on students who face hard choices to either work too many hours to succeed in class or take on significant student loan debt. The strain of meeting these costs is a key driver behind the fact that 43 million adults in the U.S. have completed some college, but not a degree. State initiatives to better support students’ financial needs facilitate their ability to re-enroll and help boost overall educational attainment.
- Michigan created the Basic Needs Task Force in 2024, housed under the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). In May of this year, the task force released their first report, and included recommendations such as strengthening student access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), increasing the accessibility of Michigan’s child care scholarship, and creating on-campus basic needs hubs.
- Minnesota also created a similar working group in 2024 to deliver recommendations on addressing student basic needs. The report findings from September 2024 included creating a pilot program to offer food vouchers for off-campus grocers and increasing funding for the postsecondary child care grant program.
- In Kentucky, the Student Success Collaborative created the Student Basic Needs Action Network and a related community of practice to remove financial and basic needs barriers for Kentucky students and work towards the state’s attainment goal of 60% by 2030.
- New Jersey and Pennsylvania are two states that have expanded the definition of employment and training (E&T) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). By adding postsecondary education as an allowable work activity, this expands eligibility and promotes education pathways for SNAP participants.
However, years of state and institutional innovation to better meet student financial needs is at risk. Proposed federal spending cuts will severely impact states’ ability to help millions of low-income and moderate-income Americans better afford food and healthcare while pursuing a postsecondary education.
This spring, TICAS organized a virtual roundtable to learn how states are reacting to recent federal actions. Experts representing seven states shared their experiences and insights, which are aggregated anonymously below.
This initial conversation underscored the imperative to continue to build alliances across state lines to share information and strategies. As states continue to grapple with the changes and uncertainties of the current federal landscape, building shared spaces for open communication will be essential to help states identify replicable best practices.
Federal Context
An array of executive orders and actions that diminished the Department of Education, ordered colleges and states to eliminate DEI programs, and rescinded funding for pre-existing programs and research were issued early in the second Trump Administration. Punitive actions taken against some of the world’s most elite universities over these issues have had a chilling effect nationwide.
Additionally, the Administration and Congress are working to make significant program changes and cuts that will limit the receipt of critical basic needs supports, including:
State Context
Throughout the roundtable discussion, state-based experts shared their concerns about federal actions and uncertainties, and the long term implications for higher education and basic needs initiatives. Multiple experts reported experiencing some changes to ongoing work in their states due to executive actions and expressed concern that efforts to help better support students enroll in and complete college, and to better align programs and resources, could be caught up in the broad DEI rollbacks. Experts reported that after school programs, food bank resources and efforts, and student supports targeted to high need student populations had already been affected or restricted.
Experts from all seven states indicated concerns over what might come from Congress and the president, particularly significant spending cuts through the budget reconciliation process. All participants expressed that the accumulation of federal actions was creating additional stress and anxiety, and several shared concerns that they feared for the future of their long-time work and their jobs.
State experts also shared that they are working to securely collect more statewide data so they can be better informed of ongoing gaps faced by their residents, especially if federal cuts to data collection and reporting have the expected effect on the availability and accuracy of long-time federal education data.
The consensus was that while it was incredibly early in the new administration, the actions taken and proposed already were overwhelmingly concerning, and the uncertainty about what was still to come is very high.
Most of the state participants found it complicated to imagine what the landscape may look like in six months or a year from now. Despite uncertainty about the future of their ability to continue basic needs initiatives, everyone underscored the importance of continuing the work, sharing success stories, and painting pictures of how students would be impacted by rollbacks and cuts. There was agreement that communication across state lines and aligned advocacy efforts can be critical in these moments as states can amplify the voices of their students.
Conclusion
Unsurprisingly, initial conversations with experts on the front lines of state and college efforts to better support students’ needs reinforced the unprecedented and severe nature of the current threat to ongoing progress for increasing educational access and attainment. All present were as strongly convinced as ever that higher education is our nation’s best workforce development program, and that research shows demand for workers with more education will only continue to grow. To meet the demands of the market and employers, we must ensure funding and support for basic needs programs remains strong and is not diminished. These programs help students, especially parenting students and those from low-income backgrounds, afford nourishing food and essential healthcare, housing, and child care services that help them access and complete a quality degree or credential.
Higher education has the power to move individuals from poverty-sustaining jobs to family-sustaining careers by lowering the need for public assistance and improving one’s financial agency. As one roundtable participant said, these programs do not just provide economic mobility, but rather, “economic liberation.” As states continue to grapple with the changes and uncertainties of the current federal landscape, creating these shared spaces can help states innovate and identify best practices. Even in the face of potential cuts, states should wield their power to advocate for policies and programs that will improve the lives of their constituents and the nation.
