An Education Bargain

The California Legislature has sent to Gov. George Deukmejian a first step toward a prepaid tuition plan that would cover an education no matter how high the cost of learning rises at state universities and colleges. He should sign it.

AB 2064, sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), declares the Legislature’s intent to approve a tuition-guarantee program if the plan passes muster after studies by the California Postsecondary Education Commission and the state Department of Finance. The review is important because of questions that dogged Michigan’s pioneer tuiti1869491559California plan would be modeled.

More than 82,000 Michigan families signed up for the program once questions were resolved and applications were finally accepted last month. Nearly 80%, parents of babies, paid for the full four years of college.

Those parents pay $1,689 into a state trust fund, and in return the state guarantees to pay one year of tuition at a public college. Parents of older children can also benefit by paying more. Sponsors of high-school seniors pay a maximum of $8,800 to guarantee the cost of one year of tuition. The investment is partly refunded, however, if a youngster decides not to attend or is not admitted to a public college in Michigan.

The cost of college is not getting any cheaper, but in the long run an education is a bargain at any price. Deukmejian should sign AB 2064, the first step toward a prepaid tuition plan, a down payment on the future.