With the Biden administration drawing to a close, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have announced that students in 34 states and the District of Columbia can now access tuition-free community college education. The initiative, part of a decade-long effort to connect classrooms to careers, aims to alleviate student debt and enhance workforce development. Jill Biden emphasized: “I knew they deserved to be seen and celebrated,” highlighting the importance of community colleges. The administration has invested over $80bn in pandemic relief to strengthen workforce programs, including the creation of “workforce hubs” to train over a million apprentices. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona noted the need to break the “four years or bust mentality,” advocating for STEM programs in K-12 schools to prepare students for diverse career paths.
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