$30 fee for GED called unfair
New tuition rules for state adult education classes took effect Friday.
For Florida residents, the tuition is $30 per term, regardless of how many courses students take. The fee is not to exceed $90 per academic year.
Out-of-state students will pay tuition of $120 per term, not to exceed $360 per academic year.
After months of taking state-sponsored General Education Development courses for free, Eddie Washington will have to pay tuition.
The states new adult education tuition rules went into effect Friday. For Florida residents, the tuition is $30 per term regardless of how many courses students take. Out-of-state students will pay $120 per term, not to exceed $360 per academic year.
How are we supposed to come up with that? said Washington, a 50-year-old unemployed Lehigh Acres construction worker taking a GED class at the Immokalee Technical Center. Most of us in here are unemployed.
Southwest Floridas adult education administrators fear the new tuition rules will decrease enrollment and lead many high school dropouts to give up their dream of earning a GED or learning English. The tuition rules, created by the Legislature because of the slumping economy, also apply to English for Speakers of Other Languages and English for Language Learners.
About 9,000 students take adult education classes in Lee and Collier counties. Mavis Pacetti, Lees adult education director, is forecasting a 15 percent to 25 percent decline in enrollment, while Colliers adult education director, Robert Breitbard projects as much as a 50 percent decline.
We have individuals who wear the same clothes to school each day, adults who live on the edge of society, Breitbard said. We have some students who live paycheck to paycheck or paycheck to no paycheck. Thirty dollars might not sound like much, but it could be quite a barrier to these students.
Naples Lorena Mireles, who is taking a GED Spanish course in Immokalee, believes shell be able to pay the tuition when the next semester starts in August.
But I dont know about a lot of these other students, said Mireles, who needs her GED so she can continue working at a day care center. Especially with how the (economic) situation is right now.
There are no financial aid opportunities for adult education students.
Breitbard doesnt know why state legislators created another obstacle for students trying to improve their lives. Research shows that people with GEDs or high school diplomas are less likely to rely on social services and get arrested.
Adult education is a wonderful return on investment for the state of Florida, Breitbard said. Weve got a theme in Florida that says, Lets get to work. Well, GEDs are a really, really inexpensive remedy that the state was involved with.
Anna Franta, who teaches adult ESOL classes at Tice Elementary School in Fort Myers, fears Southwest Floridas Hispanic population will give up their hopes of learning English because of the new fees.
These are people who we are encouraging not to be on welfare, Franta said. These are people who are trying to get their high school diploma. So by charging them a fee youre going to put an obstacle in their path. Its a sad blow.
Pacetti, however, doesnt believe the new tuition fees are costly. Florida residents will pay $30 for a session of 16 weeks with eight hours per week of instruction.
If you want to hire a private tutor to learn English, most tutoring costs $30-$40 per hour, Pacetti said.
Some critics say high school dropouts shouldnt receive free adult education because they had their chance to pick up their high school diploma.
Its not as simple as that, Breitbard said. There are thousands of reasons why people leave high school every year. They leave literally to help put food on the table for their families. There are family breakups.
And think about the money the state doesnt spend on the students when they drop out and not attend the 11th grade. Adult education only receives pennies to the dollar of what K-12 education receives.
Lee school board member Don Armstrong and Pacetti hope the Southwest Florida business community can do something to help adult education students.
Armstrong plans to bring up the issue at a board meeting.
If we have people who want to improve their education, then we need to encourage that by all means. It doesnt matter how old or young you are, Armstrong said. This is the silliest idea Ive heard from the Legislature.
Pacetti agreed. These are students who really need education and career training.
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