New bill could help get Latinos through college. How Merced County students might benefit

A new bill was introduced in Congress this week that would designate $150 million towards helping Latino students go to college, possibly giving local students an extra boost in pursuit of higher education.

The HERE Act, which was introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, would assist in closing the gap between Latino and white college attendance and graduation rates.

The legislation would connect K-12 schools that have a Hispanic student population of 25% or higher with colleges that also have a very high Hispanic student population, along with awarding scholarships and bolstering efforts to provide child care, transportation and address food insecurity — all barriers to students continuing their education.

That bodes well for school districts in the San Joaquin Valley and Merced County, many of which have high populations of Latino students.

The bill would also emphasize teaching as a profession to encourage students to stay in their communities and help reverse the nationwide teacher shortage.

Constantino Aguilar, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Merced Union High School District, said that support for students would definitely be welcomed.

Aguilar, who is from Atwater and received his doctorate in education, said he hopes any money from the HERE Act that comes to Merced County would be used to help students complete A-G course requirements, or a set of classes that prepare students for college admission, as well as provide more internship and work experience opportunities for kids while they’re still in high school.

“Students want relevance,” Aguilar said. “They want to see how things connect so they have an idea of what to major in.”

According to nonprofit Excelencia in Education, which pulls data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 20% of Hispanic or Latino adults in California age 25 and older have an associates’ degree or higher, while 54% of white adults the same age have the same degree or higher.

The latest numbers for college-going Hispanic students from the Merced Union High School District show that the district is indeed a Hispanic-serving institution, with 28.9% of Hispanic female students graduating and going to college, and 13.4% of Hispanic male students from the district continuing their education.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Aguilar said. “We hope to continue to receive supports for our students.”

Decreasing enrollment has taken a toll on Hispanic and Latino student populations nationwide, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

For the first time in 20 years, the number of Hispanic-serving higher education institutions have decreased from 569 during the 2019-20 school year to 559 during the 2020-21 school year. The drop correlates to a decrease in Hispanic and Latino students who are going to college, the association said.

Hispanic-serving institutions are colleges or universities where Hispanic and Latino students make up 25% or more of the student population.

With the introduction of the HERE Act, Hispanic students who want to go to college could get a leg up in their pursuit of a degree.

“We look forward to working with Senator Padilla to advance this important legislation on behalf of our students,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California Community College system, in a press release.

Ashleigh Panoo contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 10:00 AM.