How Dan Patrick’s plan to slash tuition grants could keep some Texans from college

A few years ago, Jadzia Hardeman was a high school senior working full time at a McDonald's to help her sick mother afford cancer treatments. The Oak Cliff girl figured the cost of a college education, and a better career, a better life, were beyond her reach.

But thanks to a state program that provides substantial grants to needy students, she was able to attend the University of North Texas. Now 20, she is set to graduate next year with a degree in social work.

“It was kind of like a dream,” she said. “When I received the grant, it made me feel really good because it made me feel like I had a chance, an opportunity.”

But hundreds of thousands of students could miss out on the opportunity that was afforded to Hardeman and generations of Texans before her, if Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gets his way.

Read more: http://interactives.dallasnews.com/2016/tuition-set-asides/