[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9444-S9445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER:
  S. 2819. A bill to provide education to students in grades 8, 9, and 
10 about the importance of higher education; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to 
introduce the Higher Education Preparation Program Act of 2004, which 
is legislation designed to expand higher educational opportunities for 
American students. There is no doubt as to the benefit of receiving a 
post-secondary education. The level of education that individuals 
accumulate has an important influence on their experience in the labor 
market. According to 2002 U.S. Census Bureau statistics on educational 
attainment and earnings, the mean earnings of men with a bachelor's 
degree is $63,354, while the mean earnings of men with a high school 
degree is $32,363. This is a difference of more than $30,000 or 97 
percent.
  In recent years, there have been clear signs that more Americans are 
pursuing higher education opportunities. In June 2002, USA Today 
reported that 63 percent of high school graduates go to college 
immediately after graduation, the highest percentage in U.S. history. 
Yet not all of the news on college graduation rates has been good. Only 
18 percent of African Americans and 11 percent of Hispanic high school 
graduates earn a bachelor's degree by their late twenties, compared to 
33 percent of whites according to the National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES) in 2001. Further, in 2000, NCES reported that 22 
percent of low-income, college qualified high school graduates do not 
pursue post-secondary education, compared to 4 percent of high-income 
graduates.
  As I travel through Pennsylvania, I still hear from too many middle 
school and high school students that they do not have the preparation 
necessary to enroll in higher education institutions. On a recent trip 
to the Commonwealth, I joined Andrew McKelvey--the founder of the 
McKelvey Foundation--to announce federal funding for entrepreneurial 
scholarships to rural, low-income Pennsylvania high school graduates. 
During that trip, I talked to Mr. McKelvey regarding the need to not 
only ensure access to funding for students to pursue higher education, 
but the need to both inform students about the importance of higher 
education, as well as prepare students for the application process.
  The bill I am introducing today, the Higher Education Preparation 
Program Act of 2004, will help to educate middle school and high school 
students in grades 8, 9, and 10, about higher education opportunities. 
This bill will create a program which will both provide students with 
information on higher education opportunities and prepare students for 
the process of applying to institutions of higher education by 
providing access to higher education preparation instruction. The 
availability of information on higher education opportunities makes an 
enormous difference to students contemplating continuing their 
education at the undergraduate level.
  My legislation will provide a grant to a nonprofit organization to 
develop a core curriculum to be taught in the classroom to equip middle 
and high school students with the appropriate skills and knowledge to 
pursue post-secondary education. Given the importance of higher 
education, it makes sense to prepare students for the undergraduate 
process as part of their

[[Page S9445]]

class instruction to ensure that all students have access to the 
necessary information to attain their goals. To this end, middle 
schools and high schools participating in the program would dedicate 
one hour each week of their classroom activity to higher education 
preparation of students utilizing the core curriculum.
  Additionally, I seek to create a network of intensive academic 
support for students by encouraging public-private partnerships to 
emphasize the importance of higher education. Partnerships with private 
entities create a unique opportunity for middle schools and high 
schools to supplement and enhance the core curriculum by offering 
appropriate enrichments, including guest speakers, videos and web-based 
services. For example, through these partnerships, middle school and 
high school students will gain first-hand knowledge of the skills that 
businesses are seeking by having the opportunity to speak with business 
leaders, as well as perhaps tour local facilities. This will underscore 
the significance and importance of higher education for students as 
they embark on their future career paths.
  To implement this initiative, my bill would authorize $10 million 
annually for fiscal years 2005 through 2010, for a nonprofit 
organization to develop a core curriculum which has as its cornerstone 
higher education preparation, as well as to establish this higher 
education preparation demonstration project. Under this project, five 
State educational agencies would be awarded federal funding to offer 
higher education preparation programs using the core curriculum in 
middle and high schools with historically low rates of student 
application and admission to post-secondary institutions.
  It is my hope that this Act will ensure that students who wish to 
enroll in a higher education institution will have access to the tools 
and resources necessary to help them plan for undergraduate study. We 
must take this step to encourage students to pursue their educational 
goals especially those who might not otherwise have this opportunity. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this Act, and urge its 
swift adoption.
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