# The Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance Act

This bill creates a new financial assistance program for low-income college students who are struggling to pay for basic living expenses while pursuing their first undergraduate degree. Specifically, it allows colleges that participate in the federal Student Support Services program to use a small portion of their funding to give direct cash grants to eligible students for two different purposes: covering predictable costs like food and housing during the school year, and handling unexpected emergencies like car repairs or medical bills that could otherwise force a student to drop out.

The program gives colleges flexibility in how they distribute the money. They can decide how much to allocate between regular living assistance and emergency funds, though they must provide both types. For emergency grants specifically, there's a cap of $500 per student in the 2024-2025 school year, which will increase slightly each year to keep up with inflation. Colleges can also decide what counts as a reasonable expense—this might include childcare costs, transportation, or personal items not covered by standard financial aid calculations. The key is that these grants are meant to help students who are already enrolled in the Student Support Services program, which targets first-generation college students, low-income students, and students with disabilities.

An important safeguard is that these grants won't count against a student's other financial aid eligibility, meaning they're truly additional help rather than replacing other assistance. Colleges can only use up to 2 percent of their Student Support Services funding for this purpose, and the program only kicks in if federal funding for the program increases beyond 2024 levels. The bill essentially recognizes that many capable students drop out of college not because they can't do the work, but because they can't afford to eat or pay for unexpected costs—and this program aims to fill that gap.

Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance Act

Davis, Danny K.

Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance Act This bill expands the TRIO Student Support Services Program to include grants to students at institutions of higher education for basic and emergency supplemental living assistance.