FREE HIGHER EDUCATION

WHEREAS, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the labor movement led the fight for universal access to primary and secondary education as a basic social right; and

WHEREAS, in the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movement established the right of all Americans to equal access to public education; and

WHEREAS, in the twenty-first century, a college education is a prerequisite for effective labor force participation and economic security for workers and their families; and

WHEREAS, the lack of access by growing numbers of Americans to postsecondary education severely limits democratic participation in the economic and political processes of the United States and results in a tragic loss of diverse human potential; and

WHEREAS, low- and middle-income students are increasingly unable to afford the full cost of public college due to decreasing state support and the resulting increases in tuition and fees; and

WHEREAS, the free tuition policy in effect in the City University of New York system until the 1970s brought higher education within reach for tens of thousands of people, including a lengthy list of prominent public officials, academics, and others for whom it would otherwise have been unreachable; and

WHEREAS, studies have shown that the GI Bill, which provided a generation of World War II veterans full tuition support and stipends to attend postsecondary education institutions, was one of the most successful programs in our nation’s history and that every $1.00 invested in this program on those who would not have otherwise attended college produced a $6.90 return in increased national output and tax revenues:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers support the right of all Americans to access to a free public higher education; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers assist in mobilizing broad public support for this right through petitions, letters, conferences, rallies and any other necessary support and assistance.