Alliance representatives presented at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s (SHEEO) 2025 Higher Education Policy Conference in Minneapolis, MN on maximizing financial aid for student parent success. The conference offers leaders from state higher education policy agencies, national higher education organizations, institutions, and state and federal governments to examine how states can promote an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans.
Session Description: Realizing that student parents face significant financial challenges attending college due to the cost of raising children, along with the struggle of balancing school, parenting, and other obligations, California recently adopted a new law, the GAINS for Student Parents Act. This presentation will discuss this trailblazing legislation, resources available to support its implementation, including a student-parent web page and social media toolkit, and strategies for increasing access to financial aid and other resources to better assist student parents with college affordability. Attendees will learn about average student parent expenses and budgets needed to attend college; the process for requesting additional financial aid and how greater access to the federal dependent care allowance can support student parent college affordability, educational opportunity, and degree attainment; and California’s public higher education segments’ cost of attendance guidance and a sample budget institutions can use to best reflect student parents’ total college costs. August 13, 2025, 4:15–5:00 p.m. CST.
