Support Funding for Pell Grants & Stafford Loans

Please take time to ask your Senators and Representative to support FY 2013 appropriations for the proposed maximum grant level of $5,645 per year under the Pell Grants Program to provide low-income students access to higher education and to maintain interest rates of 3.4 percent for Stafford Loans.  The current educational environment stresses the importance of standards and assessments that prepare students to be college-ready.  However, preparing students to be college-ready means little if they cannot afford to attend.

To call:  Contact the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, give your zip code and the operator will connect you to your legislator’s office (you will need to repeat this to contact all three of your legislators).  Please leave the message above.   You can do this 24 hours a day and leave a voice mail if necessary.   

To write in support of this issue:  Use the letter template below.

• Please take a few minutes to edit the letter in the template after paragraph six to add a brief personal example demonstrating the importance of supporting all students with adequate funding for a college education.
• For your information, the NCTE Legislative Platform calls upon policymakers at all levels to invest in a higher education system that sustains and increases student literacy and advances preparation for participation in society as productive citizens.  The platform suggests they do this by supporting students with adequate funding, including the reduction of educational costs that they bear in the form of loans including Pell Grants and Stafford Loans.