Hispanic Educational Resources and Empowerment (HERE) Act
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HERE Act at a Glance
Promoting and Supporting PK-12 and Higher Education Collaboration
HACU strongly endorses the HERE Act to prepare a diverse and educated workforce while increasing educational attainment among Latino students and underserved student populations.
Improving opportunities for success in postsecondary education is key to preparing a diverse and talented workforce in fast-growing fields that require education beyond a high school diploma. To increase enrollment and postsecondary completion, the HERE Act focuses on fostering collaboration between PK-12 and institutions of higher education that serve a significant share of Hispanic students who have made significant strides in education in recent years.
The HERE Act proposes to support partnerships between Hispanic-Serving Institutions and schools districts with high enrollments of Latino students. The bill focuses on:
- Creating a college-going culture for students through programs that promote early exposure to the opportunities provided by higher education.
- Improving school-based and institutional practices to fully prepare high school students for the academic demands of college, such as opportunities for advanced coursework.
- Supporting students through the college application and transition process.
- Addressing non-academic needs that serve as barriers to college enrollment and completion, such as housing and food insecurity.
- Developing and offering ‘grow your own’ programs that encourage students to pursue teaching as a profession.
Opportunities To Improve Outcomes
Collaboration between PK-12 and higher education, specifically HSIs and HSSDs, can increase educational opportunities, improve pedagogical practices, and, ultimately, prepare students to attain postsecondary success. For example, one in four students attending a public 4-year college and a higher percentage (40%) of students from public 2-year colleges take a remedial course, which comes with a financial cost and tends to prolong graduation or lead to students not completing their degrees. Despite efforts to reform remedial education, students of color and students from low-income families are disproportionately placed into these courses. PK-12 schools, especially those that educate a significant share of these students, can work collaboratively with higher education institutions to provide rigorous coursework as well as access to college readiness opportunities to better prepare students for postsecondary success.
Interactive Map
Click on the image below to view the interactive map that shows the geographic relationship between HSIs-eHSIs and HSSDs-eHSSDs.
Did you know?
The average Hispanic student enrollment is nearly 50% among the Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSDs) in the U.S.
Get in Touch
Contact Information
Please include your name, institution and campus as part of your communication.
- (202) 833-8361
- Washington, D.C. Office: [email protected]