Days after the Senate voted to restrict I or diversity equity and inclusion programs on public colleges campuses, Senate Education Committee members reaffirmed the need to enroll and graduate more disadvantaged students.

That includes older, low income and minority Kentuckians.

Kentucky Additions June Lefler tells us more.

If all the citizens if we could target getting 60% of them with some sort of post-secondary credential by the year 2030 would be at the national average.

And the impact that has across the Commonwealth is magnificent.

They were now at 55% with our latest data, five percentage points away.

And we're going to get there one way or the other to.

Reach that goal.

Colleges have to see all Kentuckians as potential students.

So Kentucky lawmakers adopted a funding model back in 2018 that offers universities more money for enrolling, supporting and graduating students less likely to attend and succeed in college.

It cost so much to market your business or your university to get someone to enroll.

It's so much cheaper to do whatever it takes to keep them moving on through the system.

So woven throughout are these incentives for these systems to continue to support these students once they get them enrolled after they've attracted them from the challenging backgrounds that you've mentioned?

Current law says those backgrounds include low income, underprepared and underrepresented minorities students.

The Senate Education Committee signed off on adding another group, nontraditional students, those 25 or older.

We realize we have so many adult learners that are not working in the state.

Are we not taking full advantage to have the skill ups that many of our employers are offering?

So we're also offering an adult learner metric in this new model.

Senator Reginald Thomas suggests Appalachian students should be considered in this legislation.

The bill passed unanimously for Kentucky Edition.

I'm June Leffler.

Thank you, June.

This bill also increases some funding incentives to bring in low income students.

Their enrollment in Kentucky schools has recently been on the decline.