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Children with college savings accounts are three times more likely to enroll in college
(Apr. 17) — The House passed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Speaker KC Becker and Rep. Leslie Herod with bipartisan support that would create a new strategy to incentivize and streamline the college savings process for every child born in Colorado.
“Kids of color and low income families are less likely to consider going to college because they don’t think they can afford it,” said Representative Herod, D-Denver. “College Kickstarter Programs help address the economic and racial barriers to building wealth in this country, incentivizing savings and encouraging a families to invest in education at zero cost to the taxpayers. It’s time we push this forward.”
Children with college savings accounts are twice as likely to go to college.
With HB19-1280, a program will be created to help and encourage Colorado parents to open a College Savings Account (CSA) for their children. Beginning in 2020, $100 of seed money will be contributed to the CSA if an account is opened within the first five years of the child’s life.
“The College Kickstarter program will create funding for a college savings account for every child born in Colorado,” said Speaker Becker, D-Boulder. “This will help give Colorado’s kids a running start and help us invest in our future. Ensuring hardworking families and individuals save for higher-ed is a win-win for our students and our state.”
Research has shown that even having $50 in a college savings account has many long-term benefits related to educational and financial success. A 2018 report found that 35 percent of US parents aren’t saving for college for their children.
Kids with CSAs are three times more likely to enroll in college and four times more likely to graduate. CSAs also help reduce student loans. One study found that college graduates whose parents had a college savings account borrowed $3,209 less on average in student loans.
The bill passed the floor with a bipartisan vote of 42-20.Three Republicans, Rep. Janice Rich, Rep. Susan Beckman, and Rep. Shane Sandridge, supported the bill in committee but not on the House floor. The bill was unanimously approved out of the House Finance committee. It now heads to the Senate.