We Believe:

Higher Education

• In high quality continuing education and career training, including school-to-work partnerships and apprenticeship programs, in addition to traditional higher education for adult workers;
• In fully funding tuition-free and debt-free public college, universities, Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs), minority serving institutions, and trade-schools;
• In student loan forgiveness for existing tuition debts as outlined in the Higher Education Act.
• Low-interest, publicly-administered student loans should be available to every student.
• Public colleges and universities should be given operating support to remove as many financial barriers to entry as possible and capital support to ensure safe, affordable, and quality housing for all students who want to live on campus.
• Public colleges and universities should be given operating support to remove as many financial barriers to entry as possible and capital support to ensure safe, affordable, and quality housing for all students who want to live on campus.
• We believe in a continuing commitment to increase need-based student aid programs, while also focusing on increasing enrollment and retainment of low-income and underprivileged students.
• In prioritizing funding of research and extension for climate mitigation and adaptation methods for agriculture, aquaculture, fishery, and forestry at Washington state universities;
• The state should ensure stabilization funding in the case of local budget shortfalls, in order to minimize staff reductions and minimize negative impacts to class size
• In expanding the Economic Security For All model, which is a pro-equity anti-racism poverty reduction model that provides people with a career plan to reach self-sufficiency, a supportive career coach, wrap around supportive services, free college or job training, and monthly incentive payments to holistically move people from poverty to living-wage jobs. This model works and treats people with dignity. It should be expanded in Washington and nationally.