A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers wants to bring back financial aid for college students who do not hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, like a GED.
The U.S. Congress eliminated aid eligibility for these so-called "ability to benefit" students in 2012. The motivation was to rein in spending on Pell Grants, and the cut was easier to make, politically, than other trims. Another reason was that regulation-minded Democrats wanted to crack down on for-profits, which enrolled a substantial portion of this group of students.
An additional victim of the budget chopping block that year was year-round Pell Grants. For three years prior to 2012, students could receive two of the grants per year, to help pay for summer courses.
Advocates for community colleges at the time argued unsuccessfully that Congress was hurting their students with the two cuts. But they lacked the clout to stop the changes, and some observers said other higher education associations didn't lend much support to their cause.
Now the politics appear to be shifting, at least around ability-to-benefit students.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/22/bipartisan-support-bringing-back-federal-aid-ability-benefit-students