Foster Children In Colorado Could Get Secondary Education At No Cost With Proposed Bill

DENVER (CBS4)- There could be a way in Colorado for children in the foster care system to get a secondary education at absolutely no cost. State Sen. Rachel Zenzinger is sponsoring the bill.

She said that foster children have the lowest rates of high school graduation at just over 30%. Only 3% go on to earn secondary degrees.

"When you age out of foster care, you have to immediately think about your needs, are you going to find a job, find a place to live, it's very difficult, by the way, because you don't have a family to support you, to put aside money for your college fund," said Zenzinger.

The bill would waive tuition and fees for nearly all foster children. It's estimated 4,500 children would be eligible for scholarships each year and 15% would attend college at a cost of about $700,000. The bill passed its first committee 5-2 with bipartisan support.