Gluesenkamp Perez Introduces Bill to Bring Greater Transparency to College Tuition Costs

Today, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) introduced the Truth in Tuition Act with support from her bipartisan colleagues. The legislation will require universities that participate in federal student aid programs to provide tuition price models to help students plan for expenses, as year-to-year fluctuations in tuition can otherwise inhibit financial planning.

The legislation would require students to be provided with either of the following:

• A nonbinding multi-year tuition and fee schedule.
• A nonbinding single-year tuition and fee schedule, along with a multi-year estimate of net costs after a student’s financial aid has been awarded.

“For young people who decide to go to college and don’t have family money or a full ride, the skyrocketing sticker price of college tuition can put them in an impossible situation. They have to take out enormous student loans, work their way through college, or both – like I did,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Deciding where to go to college, or whether to attend a trade school, is one of the first and most important decisions students can make as young adults. This legislation will help ensure they have all the information they need at the table when making these decisions.”

Last week, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced bipartisan legislation to expand the eligible uses of 529 education savings plans to include the tools necessary for technical careers.

Full text of the bill is available here.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Scott Peters (CA-50), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) are original cosponsors of the legislation.