WASHINGTON, DC –Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hailed the enactment into law of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which includes key measures she has championed to increase access to college for hardworking Americans, including provisions to address the needs of our nation’s veterans and non-traditional students. President Bush signed the legislation, which included provisions from Senator Clinton’s Supporting Education for Returning Veterans Act, Non-traditional Student Success Act, and other bills.

“Our veterans have dedicated themselves to the defense of our nation and I am proud that my provisions will help ensure they’ll receive the assistance they need to pursue the American dream of obtaining a higher education,” said Senator Clinton. “By making this investment in our veterans we are honoring their service and giving them the opportunity to be leaders in their new civilian lives; it is an investment that will pay dividends for us all.”

Senator Clinton championed a new program that will provide tailored support for veterans going back to college – the Supporting Education for Returning Veterans Act- by authorizing grants to institutions of higher education to establish dedicated “Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success” on campus to assist veteran students with everything from financial aid and veterans’ benefits to academic advising and mental health counseling. It builds on the historic GI Bill recently passed by Congress by proactively addressing the unique needs of veterans on campus and helping to ensure that they thrive both as students and members of their college communities. Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives and was instrumental in ensuring its inclusion in the final bill.

Senator Clinton also secured approval of several provisions from her Non-Traditional Student Success Act. Increasingly, non-traditional students are becoming the norm on college campuses; these students face unique challenges to completing their degree that include affording their education, balancing work, school, and family responsibilities, overcoming inadequate academic preparation, and navigating the college environment. This new law will make Pell Grants available year-round, boost awareness and information about available financial aid, and explore new ways to support students who are attending school part time. The new law will also expand the definition of independent students to include youth in foster care, aging out of foster care or emancipated minors; providing critical additional financial support for foster youth.

“Nontraditional students are not only pursuing their goal of obtaining a college degree, but are also juggling the responsibilities of work and family. They should not have to shoulder the burden alone, and my Non-Traditional Student Success Act will help make college more accessible and affordable for these students. Today we are opening the doors of higher education wider than ever, helping to fulfill the historic promise of the Higher Education Act,” Senator Clinton said.

The full scope of Senator Clinton’s provisions include placing well-trained superintendents, principals, and other school leadership personnel in rural schools in New York and across the country, ensuring new teachers are trained on the components of reading instruction, and expanding current loan forgiveness programs to teachers in the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and educational service agencies. These hard-working teachers serve students with disabilities and students enrolled in career and technical education classes – two areas in which New York is experiencing teacher shortages. Creating access to loan forgiveness programs will help recruit and retain teachers, while ensuring students are taught by qualified and effective teachers. This legislation will help place 10,000 new teachers in disadvantaged communities over the next three years, put in place steps to increase the college-going rates in disadvantaged communities, and provide tailored support for veterans going back to college. This new law will strengthen the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness of Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP), which helped 8,212 low-income and first-generation New York students last year, obtain the fundamental educational tools needed to attend and succeed in college.

Senator Clinton has long been a champion of higher education and supporting college students. Two of the provisions from her Student Borrower Bill of Rights were enacted into law during the 109th Congress through the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense 2006. Two of the provisions from her previously introduced Nontraditional Student Success Act were also enacted into law through the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

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