Bill would tie state financial aid to post-degree earnings

New federal rules aim to stop federal student-aid dollars from flowing to low-earning degree programs.  

Proposed legislation laid over Thursday by the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee would mirror that approach at the state level.

Sponsored by Rep. Bidal Duran (R-Bemidji), HF4572 would make Minnesota financial aid and state student loan eligibility dependent on whether a program meets the new federal earning requirements.

Rep. Bidal Duran

Duran said aligning state aid with federal standards would help ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and efficiently, rather than supporting programs that “leave students with lifelong debt and limited employment opportunities.”

Christian Barnard, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, said federal guidelines for financial aid must now meet a so-called “Do No Harm,” in which post-degree earnings are higher than the typical $17.50 hourly wage for a high school-only worker.

Approximately 3% of Minnesota programs may fall short, Barnard said.

Though supportive of reducing student debt, Rep. Kim Hicks (DFL-Rochester) worries about occupational skills programs for people with disabilities, which teach students the skills needed to work in the community. Calling the programs “very, very important,” she said similar federal rules have previously cut off aid.

Rep. Nathan Coulter (DFL-Bloomington) said programs that could lose federal aid include medical and dental assistants and early childhood education. “My question is, whose failure is it these occupations are low-earning – the people studying them or us as a society?”