COLORADO SPRINGS — A new law allows Native American students across the U.S., to pay in-state college tuition in Colorado. Advocates hope to spread this policy, and increase Native American students in higher education.
According to theNational Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Undergraduate college enrollment was down 5.9% in the spring from a year ago. For Native American students, the drop was 13%, the largest decline among racial and ethnic groups.
In Colorado, Native American students accounted for 0.89% of the total college population in 2019, down from 1.2% In 2010, according to the CDHE. Here's why Senate Bill 29 matters. According to the Post-secondary National Policy Institute, as of 2020, only 19 percent of Native Americans age 18 to 24 were enrolled in college. According to the Census Bureau, only 14.5 percent of the Indigenous population have earned a Bachelor's degree or higher – which is why advocates have been calling for change.
Under the new law, about 200 Native American students enrolled in colleges in Colorado would see their annual tuition slashed, by about $15,000.
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