WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Susan Collins is urging the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider proposed changes to the Upward Bound program. In letters to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education James Manning, Senator Collins expressed great concern with the Department’s proposal to limit Upward Bound eligibility to students entering the program in the ninth grade and that at least 30 percent of participants be at “high academic risk of failure.”
Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families, and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. The program’s goal is to increase the rates at which participants enroll in and graduate from postsecondary education institutions. In 2005, Upward Bound served 452 students in Maine.
Following is the full text of the letters for Secretary Spellings and Acting Assistant Secretary Manning.
August 1, 2006
The Honorable Margaret Spellings
Secretary
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Secretary Spellings:
I am writing to comment on the Notice of Proposed Priority for the Upward Bound program published in the July 3, 2006 Federal Register. I am greatly concerned with this proposal, which would limit Upward Bound eligibility to students entering the program in the ninth grade and would require that 30 percent of these students are "at high risk for academic failure." These requirements would take away important flexibility needed for Upward Bound programs in Maine and other parts of the country to successfully serve low-income and first-generation students.
Just last week, I met in my office with nine students from the University of Maine Farmington’s Upward Bound Bridge program. These students told me that without Upward Bound, they would not be pursuing higher education this fall. However, under the proposed eligibility restrictions, six of these students would have been denied the opportunity to participate in the program. Still others would have been denied Upward Bound services simply because they had overcome the odds and were doing well in school.
When authorizing the Upward Bound program, Congress specifically did not include these additional eligibility requirements in the statutory language. This reflects congressional intent to provide flexibility to local programs in determining the students who would benefit most from these services. This flexibility is particularly important because Upward Bound seeks to serve a population of students who are difficult to reach. These students tend to be highly-mobile, and may be forced to change schools due to a parent’s job loss, housing needs, or other factors. The proposed eligibility requirements could create additional barriers to higher education for these students.
I believe that Congress is in the best position to consider any changes to eligibility requirements through the legislative process, as well as whether these changes would have a detrimental effect on the students Congress intended to serve through the program.
Thank you for your consideration of my comments on this matter.
###