Pennsylvania lawmakers tackled higher education reform this week; Senate Republicans ‘Grow PA' bills passed the Senate, while Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced legislation with their vision of an overhaul.

Tuesday, seven bills passed out of the Senate (SB 1150, SB 1151, SB1152, SB1153, SB1154, SB1155, SB750), representing the ‘Grow PA’ bill package. If enacted, the bills would increase funding for student scholarships, require high school seniors to complete the FAFSA, fund institutions through performance based metrics, and create a state wide task force to keep colleges and universities in conversations with each other.

Most of the bills passed with near unanimous support, though Senate Democrats voted against funding institutions through performance-based metrics and the state wide task force.

“Clearly providing an affordable way for higher education, for our for our in-state students is a goal that we all share,” said Senator Dan Laughlin (R-Erie).

In turn, HB 2398 and SB 1248 were introduced this week with Democrat sponsors; the bills were drafted with Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration… putting his higher education reform plan announced in January into legislative language.

The bills would cap semester tuition at $1000 at PASSHE and PA community colleges for students from median (or lower) income households.

In January, Shapiro called for PASSHE and community colleges to be ‘united under a new governance system’.

The new bill calls for the creation of a State Board of Higher Education. Most of the responsibilities and authorities the new board would hold are already in place with the State Board of Education.

Rep. Pete Schweyer (D-134), the bill’s sponsor and Majority Chair of the House Education Committee, said the current Education Board rarely devotes time and resources to the topic of higher education. He says creating a separate board would in turn create dedication to policy initiatives and the ability to apply for grants.

Lastly, HB2398 introduces performance-based metrics for funding for all higher education institutions that receive money from the state; but switches up other funding processes for state-related schools (PennState, Pitt, etc).

Pennsylvania has the third highest in-state tuition rates in the United States, according to statistics from educationdata.org. The same site reports tuition at 4 year public universities are 69% higher than the national average.

“Families are facing sticker shock when they look at sending their kids to college,” said Schweyer.

As college rates and cost of living continues to rise in the state, Pennsylvania has seen declines in its younger demographics.

"We've got to have young people setting up roots here in Pennsylvania and making Pennsylvania their home. And that's going to be important to the state and to our livelihood moving forward,” said Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie), Chair of the Majority Policy Committee.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are eager to make Pennsylvania colleges more appealing to the next generation. Comparing his sponsored bill to the Grow PA bills just passed, Schweyer said he is cautiously optimistic that both Democrats and Republicans are identifying similar problems and suggesting related solutions.

Both want direct funding towards students; Republicans through industry-targeted scholarships, Democrats with capped tuition based on household income.

Both want performance-based metrics- though other aspects of institution funding may be argued.

Both want a state wide organization to keep institutions connected and collaborating; though there are differences of opinion on how much power or authority such an organization should have. 

In typical fashion, the role of government remains contested;

“We cannot dig our way out of this hole by awarding individual scholarships,” said Senator Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny), the Minority Chair of the Education Committee. "This is a broader problem of how we fund or rather don't fund higher education in Pennsylvania.

But candid compromise could lead to change.

"I look forward to working with both the House and the Governor to try and land this package,” said Laughlin.