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Happy Holiday season, Hope community! ❄️🎁☃️

It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2022! We’re excited to top the year off with some exciting news. This week we launched The Hope Blog. It’s a home for analyses from our brilliant team and colleagues, as well as spotlights on those around the country who are at the forefront of change in higher ed. Have suggestions for superstars to highlight? Holler at us!

Our debut post, by Policy Associate Leslie Rios, offers a deep dive on how the Dobbs decision to strip away abortion rights impacts basic needs security for students, especially those historically minoritized.

Keep reading for more policy updates and ways in which Congress can continue to invest in student basic needs. And if you need some brainfood over the holidays, don't forget to tap into our Virtual Policy Summit recordings on our YouTube channel—a special trove of crucial conversations in higher education.

Stay tuned for more in 2023!

With gratitude,

The Hope Center Team

Abortion Access is a Student Basic Need

The Dobbs decision stripped the rights of women and other people who can become pregnant to make decisions about their own health care. But the decision also exacerbates another crisis in higher education: student basic needs insecurity.

Few students have the financial resources, time, and family support they need to navigate an unexpected pregnancy and raise a child while going to college. The increased costs, health risks, and time burdens that ensue from Dobbs will further deter the dreams of countless students, particularly those with structurally marginalized identities. Data already show the disproportionately high rates of basic needs insecurity among Black and Latine students, and this decision puts them at further risk.

Policy Associate Leslie Rios makes a powerful case for reproductive access on college campuses in our first blog post. Learn more about the impact of this decision on students, and how institutional leaders and policymakers can step up to secure abortion rights on campus.

The recorded webinar is now available on Schoolhouse Connection’s YouTube channel!

The webinar reviews recently-released guidance from the U.S. Department of Education intended to help implement the new provisions, and provide recommendations for practices, partnerships, and advocacy to ensure smooth implementation.

This week, top negotiators in Congress reached a deal to fund the government and key federal programs for the rest of the current fiscal year that runs through September 30, 2023. While the House and Senate race to finalize the deal, we’re calling on them to make key investments in programs that support student basic needs like child care and mental health, in line with the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations priorities we delivered earlier this year.

We’re especially hoping that Congress will boost funding for the Basic Needs Grant program, which helps colleges make comprehensive reforms to the ways they address students’ non-tuition costs.

Fingers crossed for some much-deserved holiday cheer for students!

Missed our hit Virtual Policy Summit earlier this year? We’ve got you covered.

Subscribe to our channel to make sure you don’t miss future session uploads.

As we wrap up yet another impactful year at Hope, we would like to thank all of our funders, donors and partners for joining the fight to ensure that students are treated as humans first.

Your donations support our actionable research on student basic needs security, our policy efforts to urge state and federal lawmakers to recognize the importance of college affordability, and our training services for institutions to help them become student-ready.

Finally, we want to end the year with a reminder, in celebration of YOU—our wonderful community of changemakers. You inspire us every day. A luta continua.