Statement from KIPP on the passage of the FUTURE Act

“We are pleased the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2486, the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act earlier this week. We now call on the U.S. Senate to follow suit and act swiftly to pass this bi-partisan bill.

The FUTURE Act extends vital funding to Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) with a priority on instructional programs in high-demand fields, including STEM, other computer-related sciences, nursing and allied health – jobs that are crucial to the development and growth of our global and national economies.

As a national network of public charter schools serving 100,000 Black and Latinx students and their families, we believe that investments in HBCUs and other MSIs are much-needed and critical to the future success of – not only KIPP students – but to millions of students of color who attend these institutions of higher education. Last fall, 12% of KIPP alumni attended an HBCU and 36% attended a college where the majority of the students were either African American or Latinx.

The Senate should pass this bill and send a clear signal that students of color and first-generation college students at these institutions are deserving of our support.”

Richard Barth, KIPP Foundation CEO