For Release: May 21, 2021
Contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, 404.861.1127, dturnernolt@all4ed.org
“We are excited that Senators Maggie Hassan and Todd Young have reintroduced the Fast Track to and Through College Act, an important piece of bipartisan legislation that rethinks high school students’ senior year. Through this legislation, college-ready high school students could graduate early or complete their freshman year of college before leaving high school through dual enrollment or early college programs. This bill will not only help keep America competitive with other countries for years to come by encouraging more students, particularly low-income and first- generation college students, to complete postsecondary education, but it also will help address the decline in college enrollment due to the pandemic by providing students a more affordable and faster pathway to a degree. We know that ‘Fast Track’ programs could save substantial sums—as much as $7.2 billion in gross savings for states on state higher education budgets, not to mention the savings for the more than 850,000 high school students could benefit from these programs. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, ‘Fast Track’ pathways empower students and families to make choices that best meet students’ academic, financial, and personal needs. We encourage the Senate and House to pass this bill so that we can help more students achieve their dreams.”
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Deborah S. Delisle is the president and CEO of the Alliance for Excellent Education and served as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education from 2012 to 2015.
The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those underperforming and those historically underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. all4ed.org