When it comes to funding college and post-secondary education, it is critical to understand what is currently happening at both the federal and state levels.
The One Big Beautiful Bill has a direct impact on students, families and the future workforce. New federal limits will affect how much students can borrow, influence lifetime earning potential and shape access to higher education for low-income and first-generation students.
Under the July passage of the bill, major federal student aid programs face serious reductions or elimination. Most notably:
- Pell Grant eligibility faces proposed cuts, limiting access for students with the greatest financial need.
- The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program is at risk of significant reduction or elimination. If eliminated entirely, approximately $910 million would be lost for students with extreme financial need.
- Campus-based aid programs, including Federal Work-Study, are also facing cuts–reducing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support that helps students work while enrolled.
At the state level, Washington is facing parallel challenges. Washington Senate Bill 5828 would restore full funding for the Washington College Grant and the College Bound Scholarship for students attending private and nonprofit colleges. This funding is at risk due to budget cuts announced by state legislators last year.
These combined state and federal cuts significantly limit how much support high-need students receive, creating a perpetual gap wherein reduced aid leads to higher borrowing, increased financial stress, lower completion rates and ultimately fewer opportunities for long-term economic mobility.
When we talk about systems, it is important to recognize the cyclical effects of policies and laws that create barriers are often far more damaging than any single decision. These structures compound over time, reinforcing inequity.
Those who already hold wealth and power rarely feel the impact of these barriers. They do not have to navigate shrinking financial aid, shifting eligibility rules or rising costs in the same way. But first-generation college students and families working to build a new generational trajectory of success are directly affected.
Low-income families who hope to climb the rungs of economic progress now face the latest blow to the bootstraps they are so often told to pull themselves up with. But what happens when there are no boots?
Support SB 5828, and learn more online at app.leg.wa.gov.