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ACC students, staff and regents met with lawmakers during Community College Day at the Capitol on February 3.

The event is held every legislative session in Austin to give students an opportunity to discuss issues facing community colleges.

“Community colleges is an investment in Texas,” Kilgore College president Dr. Brenda Kays said during a rally on the Capitol steps. “Advocacy is about making sure our voices are heard loud and clear. Keep the energy going.”

There are several issues facing Texas community colleges in the 89^th session including adjustments to the House Bill 8 funding model that was approved in the previous session. There are also bills that would impact the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded by community colleges, create the Texas Promise program to provide tuition assistance to students and expansion of the FAST program.

A group of ACC students visited with State Sen. Mayes Middleton and State Rep. Jeff Barry to discuss the impact of the pending legislation while also advocating for community colleges.

“Alvin Community College has been the best thing that’s happened to me,” Chase Lovick, an ACC student and baseball player said with a meeting with Middleton.

Middleton talked about his bill to increase the number of bachelor’s degrees that community colleges can offer.

“It’s more career based and at a lower cost,” Middleton told the students. “It’s also a way of addressing the student debt crisis.”

Rep. Barry spoke with students about the appropriations bill that was recently filed and his desire to increase career and technology funding for ACC. Providing community colleges what they need to educate students and prepare them for the workforce is an important goal for this session, Barry said.

“We have good schools and good institutions in our district,” he said. “As long as (legislators) are making a difference for your district, that’s all that matters.”