State Policy Driving Postsecondary Support

States across the country are putting new policies in place to better support and track how high schools prepare students for life after graduation. From postsecondary planning requirements to stronger data and accountability systems, these efforts aim to ensure students don’t just graduate, but graduate ready. This post highlights how states are approaching this work and what it means for educators on the ground.

Table of Contents

• How State Policy Drives Postsecondary Success
• Why the Policy Shift Matters Now
• Massachusetts: A Roadmap for Higher Education Equity
• The Kentucky North Star: 60×30 and Systemic Alignment
• California
• Michigan
• New York
• Key Policy Levers: A Perspective from the Classroom and the OneGoal Suite

Bridging the Gap: How State Policy Drives Postsecondary Success

While a high school diploma once opened doors to a stable career, it now serves primarily as the foundation for the specialized training required by today’s economy. As the boundary between the classroom and the career field thins, state policymakers are increasingly using strategic policy levers to ensure students aren’t just graduating, but are truly prepared for what comes next—whether that is a four-year degree, a high-demand trade program, or a pathway which leads them to success.

State policy plays a foundational role in shaping how postsecondary planning and advising are delivered on the ground. When we talk about postsecondary support, we are looking at a comprehensive ecosystem across the states: personalized advising, dual enrollment opportunities, increased access to financial aid, and competency-based learning. State policy provides structure, funding, and accountability for supports that help students transition from high school to college or career. State goals also set the expectations for what the outcome should look like. A strong state framework means educators can better align classroom practices with postsecondary expectations. Crucially, leading states are no longer stopping at “access”; they are pairing these initiatives with accountability, using robust data to monitor student outcomes—like workforce earnings and credential completion—well beyond the graduation stage.

Key Takeaways

• Shift Focus to “Quality Enrollment”: States are moving beyond high school graduation rates to measure success by whether students enroll in postsecondary paths that fit their financial and academic needs.
• Data-Driven Accountability: Policies are increasingly using FAFSA completion mandates and postsecondary dashboards to track student progress and identify equity gaps.
• District Responsibility: New strategies hold school districts accountable for post-graduation outcomes through “outcome-based funding” and mandatory postsecondary planning for every student.
• Preventing “Summer Melt” and “Stop-Outs”: States are funding bridge programs and streamlining credit transfers to ensure students who start a degree actually finish it.
• Holistic Support: There is a growing emphasis on integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into state policy to help students develop the resilience needed for independent college life.
• Shift Focus to “Quality Enrollment”: States are moving beyond high school graduation rates to measure success by whether students enroll in postsecondary paths that fit their financial and academic needs.
• Data-Driven Accountability: Policies are increasingly using FAFSA completion mandates and postsecondary dashboards to track student progress and identify equity gaps.
• District Responsibility: New strategies hold school districts accountable for post-graduation outcomes through “outcome-based funding” and mandatory postsecondary planning for every student.
• Preventing “Summer Melt” and “Stop-Outs”: States are funding bridge programs and streamlining credit transfers to ensure students who start a degree actually finish it.
• Holistic Support: There is a growing emphasis on integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into state policy to help students develop the resilience needed for independent college life.

Why the Policy Shift Matters Now

The urgency behind these policies stems from a simple reality: college and career readiness are more interconnected than ever, yet the path is increasingly fragile. Higher education currently faces a deteriorating outlook for 2026, marked by:

• Federal Funding Volatility: Recent freezes in research grants and proposed cuts to core programs like TRIO and GEAR UP are forcing institutions to do more with less. This also includes a proposed $12 billion (15%) reduction in the Department of Education.
• Accountability Shifts: New federal earnings tests (such as those under the One Big Beautiful Bill framework) are redefining value, potentially cutting off aid to programs that don’t meet strict return-on-investment thresholds.
• Systemic Misalignment: Without state intervention, the gap between K–12 graduation and workforce needs continues to widen

Despite the many successes laid out in this blog, shifting federal policies threaten to undermine, and in many states, compromise the good work previously done. Threats like cuts to student aid, reductions in need-based grants and support services, and changes in federal loan programs and policies, will diminish financial assistance for students across the country. At the same time, the evolution of federal approaches to immigration has created fear and affects undocumented students and mixed status families, discouraging many from the path of college entirely.

The termination of essential federal grants and new institutional funding mandates also further erode academic freedom and institutional efforts for the cultivating of inclusion and equal opportunity. This changing federal atmosphere is happening at a time when colleges both public and private are experiencing a stagnant student enrollment. There are currently fewer students enrolled in higher education compared to 10 years ago.

To move the needle on equity in this volatile climate, postsecondary readiness policies must move past silos. The most effective frameworks are those that align K–12, higher education, and workforce systems. When these sectors are unified by state-level vision, policy transforms from a set of requirements into a powerful engine for economic mobility, shielding students from broader systemic uncertainty.

Massachusetts: A Roadmap for Higher Education Equity

As this blog is dedicated to recent state initiatives on postsecondary enrollment, it is only reasonable to start with one of the most exceptional. From “Laying the Groundwork: Building a Policy Roadmap for Massachusetts Public Higher Education,” conducted by the Collaborative for Higher Education Access and Opportunity (CHEAO), Massachusetts is presented as being one of the most forward-thinking states for the future of college accessibility and state interests. The coauthors of this roadmap begin their executive summary by acknowledging that 75% of jobs in Massachusetts will require education beyond high school by 2031, making clear that access to higher education is not only a cornerstone for the state’s economic future, but disparities in college enrollment and completion across the state are a focus of the state’s roadmap. The report outlines current bold initiatives in Massachusetts, as well as proposed actions to strengthen the existing system.

One of the most hopeful initiatives from Massachusetts is the recent implementation of the Fair Share tax, which yearly generates billions of dollars of revenue. In fiscal year 2025, Massachusetts cultivated $2.98 billion in revenue from the voter-approved Fair Share tax, which is dedicated solely to education and transportation.

Massachusetts’ roadmap consists of four key topics:

Access and Affordability

• The report highlights an historic increase in state financial aid, which has more than tripled from $121 million in FY2020 to over $400 million today.
• MassReconnect: Launched in 2023, this initiative provides tuition-free community college for residents aged 25 and older who have not yet earned a degree.
• Introduction of MassEducate: This program launched in October of 2024, which makes community college tuition-free for all residents across the state.
• MassGrant Plus Expansion: This is a “last dollar” grant which allows students from low-income communities pursuing bachelor’s degrees at public four-year institutions to receive need-based free tuition. Students must complete the FAFSA to receive the grant.
• Tuition Equity Legislation: Massachusetts passed legislation in 2023 allowing undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition rates and state financial aid programs.
• The Massachusetts Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP) provides free or discounted college-level courses to high school students, enabling them to earn credit for both high school and college. The program aims to close achievement gaps by offering early college access to underserved populations.

Student Success & Completion Initiatives

Recognizing that enrollment is only the first step, the state is further investing in support systems to shift from “student readiness” to “student-ready colleges.” The report highlights that Massachusetts community colleges have a six-year completion rate of only 35.2%, with significantly lower rates for minoritized groups. The roadmap notices a major disparity for students who take non-credit remedial college courses, which act as a structural barrier, draining financial aid and momentum without yielding credits. Other completion initiatives include:

Degree Value & High School Alignment

These strategies focus on ensuring the pipeline from high school to college is seamless and valuable. The report challenges the notion of “degree-blind” workforce development, suggesting that the return on investment of a degree is often delayed for students of color due to systemic labor market biases and high debt-to-income ratios. Changes in degree value include:

• Early College Programs: This initiative allows high school students to earn college credits for free, which has been shown to double the likelihood of immediate college enrollment.
• MassCore: A recommended program of study for high schoolers designed to align with college-readiness standards.
• Work-Based Learning: The report calls for expanding partnerships with employers to integrate internships and apprenticeships directly into academic programs to improve post-graduation employment.
• Strategic Base Funding: Moving away from enrollment-only funding to a weighted funding formula that provides higher subsidies to institutions serving high concentrations of Pell-eligible or first-generation students.
• Workforce Reciprocity: Aligning academic curricula with regional high-wage industry needs to ensure that completion actually translates into intergenerational wealth transfer.

Transparency and Accountability

The roadmap outlines specific new policies for lawmakers to consider.

• Centralized Education-to-Career Data Center: Establishing an independent agency to manage cross-agency data (K-12, Higher Ed, and Labor).
• Mandatory Data Disaggregation: Requiring all public institutions to report outcomes disaggregated by race, gender, and socio-economic status to ensure targeted intervention rather than blanket policies.
• Universal FAFSA: A proposed policy requiring all high school seniors to complete the FAFSA (or formally opt out) to ensure students don’t miss out on available aid.
• Individual Postsecondary Plan (IPP): Recommending that an IPP become a mandatory high school graduation requirement to ensure every student has an actionable path forward.
• Centralized Data Center: Proposing an independent education-to-career data center to track student outcomes across different state agencies and provide more transparency.

Moving Beyond Coursework to Strategic Planning

The act redefines the high school experience by embedding post-graduation planning into the daily fabric of the school through the PaCE framework. Rather than a one-time meeting with a counselor, PaCE creates a grade-by-grade roadmap (beginning in 6th grade) that covers career exploration, financial literacy, and workplace exposure. For students seeking deeper specialization, the College and Career Pathway Endorsement allows high school graduates to earn a “Seal of Readiness” on their diploma. This credential requires 60 hours of work-based learning and early college credit, providing tangible currency that universities like Northern Illinois University (NIU) now use to fast-track students into honors programs and research opportunities.

OneGoal: Policy in Action

The OneGoal program serves as a premier implementation partner for the PWR Act’s goals. By embedding a credit-bearing postsecondary success class into the school day, OneGoal operationalizes the state’s mandates in three critical ways:

• PaCE Alignment: OneGoal’s curriculum mirrors the PaCE milestones, ensuring students move from exploration to execution with one-on-one support for college applications and FAFSA completion.
• Remediation Prevention: OneGoal’s focus on GPA growth and best-fit college matching ensures students are academically prepared to utilize the state’s transitional placement guarantees.
• Mastery Over Mandates: While the state provides the framework, OneGoal provides the adult capacity, training teachers to act as navigators who ensure the PWR Act’s benefits reach the students who need them most—resulting in a 10–20 percentage point increase in college enrollment and persistence for OneGoal Fellows in Illinois.

Measured Outcomes and Impact

According to the Illinois Education and Career Success Network’s 10-Year Impact Report, the PWR framework has yielded:

• A 25–40% reduction in remedial placements among participating community colleges.
• Increased equity in access to early college credit, particularly in under-resourced and rural districts.
• Enhanced alignment between education and workforce outcomes in sectors like healthcare and advanced manufacturing.
• Leadership studies further show that Illinois principals perceive college and career readiness initiatives as transformative under Every Student Succeeds Act accountability measures, fostering collaborative leadership between K–12 and higher education sectors.

Building an Equitable Pipeline: The New Illinois Postsecondary Landscape

While states like Massachusetts have leveraged new tax revenue, Illinois has focused their efforts on structural mandates that force institutions to proactively dismantle equity gaps. The Illinois legislative landscape has shifted from simply encouraging college access to mandating institutional accountability through HB 5464 (Public Act 102-1046). Under this law, every public university and community college must now implement a formal Equity Plan specifically designed to close disparity gaps in enrollment, retention, completion, and student loan repayment rates. These plans are not merely aspirational; they require institutions to utilize the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) Technical Guide to disaggregate data by race, ethnicity, age, rural status, and Pell-eligibility, ensuring that progress for marginalized student populations is measurable and transparent.

To further reduce barriers to entry, Illinois signed HB 3522 (Public University Direct Admission Program Act) into law in June 2025, establishing the Direct Admission Program. Set for full implementation in the 2027-2028 academic year, this program shifts the burden from the student to the state by using GPA data to automatically offer admission to qualifying high school seniors and community college transfers. By bypassing traditional application fees and the navigational burden of the standard process, the state is actively courting first-generation students and students from low-income communities who might otherwise opt out of the system entirely.

Recognizing that admission is only the first step, the state has also addressed the navigational gap and the total cost of attendance. Recent mandates in HB 3096 and HB 3522 now require high schools to provide a designated FAFSA point-of-contact and dedicated school hours for financial aid assistance. On the postsecondary side, Public Act 102-1045 mandates that every public institution employ a benefits navigator. These professionals are tasked with connecting students to essential non-academic supports, such as SNAP and housing assistance, acknowledging that financial stability is a prerequisite for academic success.

Finally, Illinois is ensuring that academic momentum begins long before a student sets foot on a college campus. Through updates via HB 5020, the Dual Credit Quality Act (2024) has been strengthened to prevent “zip code gatekeeping.” Community colleges and high schools must now negotiate partnerships within 60 days of a request, and revenue must be reinvested back into these programs. The act also standardizes cap costs, instructor credential requirements, and requires that courses align with college curriculum to improve college affordability and completion rates. Coupled with record-breaking investment—including $721 million for Monetary Award Program grants in FY2025, Illinois is building a comprehensive, well-funded framework that prioritizes the students who have historically been the furthest from opportunity.

The Kentucky North Star: 60×30 and Systemic Alignment

Kentucky’s statewide strategic agenda, “Higher Education Matters,” led by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), is anchored by an ambitious north star goal: ensuring that 60% of working-age Kentuckians earn a high-quality postsecondary credential by 2030. This 60×30 mandate isn’t just a target; it is a policy engine that drives alignment across the entire P-20 pipeline. To meet this goal, Kentucky has moved beyond isolated initiatives toward a performance-driven ecosystem that mandates collaboration between high schools and colleges.

At the heart of this alignment are robust monitoring and incentive systems. Kentucky’s Performance-Based Funding Model (SB 153/SB 135) is one of the most rigorous in the nation, allocating state dollars to institutions based on key metrics like credit hour accumulation, timely degree completion, and—crucially—equity premiums for graduating underrepresented minority students and students from low-income communities. This fiscal accountability is paired with the Kentucky Advising Academy (KAA), which professionalizes the navigational aspect of college access by training school counselors and advisors on a standardized Postsecondary Advising Framework. This ensures that students in every zip code receive consistent guidance on career exploration and financial literacy, effectively bridging the transition from high school to the workforce.

OneGoal serves as a vital operational partner in this statewide effort, particularly within Kentucky’s rural communities where navigational gaps are often widest. As highlighted in recent state-level discussions on Supporting Postsecondary Readiness in Rural Communities, OneGoal’s work is precisely aligned with the CPE’s strategic objectives:

• Advising Academy Integration: OneGoal has piloted the state’s Advising Framework within its partner districts, turning high-level state standards into daily classroom instruction.
• Performance Metric Support: By focusing on quality enrollment—helping students choose institutions where they are most likely to persist—OneGoal directly supports the retention and completion metrics that drive university performance funding.
• Rural Capacity Building: In rural districts, where one counselor may serve hundreds of students, OneGoal’s credit-bearing classroom model provides the human infrastructure necessary to meet the CPE’s transition goals, ensuring that first-generation students in the Commonwealth have a clear, supported path to the 60% attainment threshold.

Current and pending state law proposals:

California

In California, the final budget (AB102), which was passed in the 2025-2026 legislative session, includes several positive initiatives for access to higher education, including $20 million in emergency grant aid for community college students, $15 million for DREAMER resource liaisons, $5.1 million for statewide financial aid outreach, and preventing cuts to the California State University and University of California system campuses. Passed on July 14, 2025, AB313 gives the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) discretion to modify the application deadline for 30 days in case there are any delays associated with the opening of the FAFSA. This helps students from missing out on money due to technical delays. Current legislative proposals as of January 2026 include:

• SB790 would enter California into a national reciprocity agreement, such as the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, or SARA. The goal is to authorize the Governor to enter into interstate agreements for online college courses. Proponents argue the benefit would make it easier and cheaper for California colleges to offer online degrees to students in other states, and vice versa. Critics of the law, including student advocacy groups such as The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), worry it might weaken California’s strict consumer protection laws for students attending out-of-state online for-profit colleges, which can be predatory in their offering of short programs.
• AB866 seeks to protect student borrowers by explicitly subjecting student loan servicers to California’s Unfair Competition Law and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It aims to give the state more power to crack down on predatory or unfair student loan servicing practices. It also enables public prosecutors to enforce the law, prevent misconduct, and protect borrowers.

Michigan

Michigan’s 2025–26 budget was signed by Governor Whitmer on October 7. Within the budget is included $10 million for FAFSA completion programming; $135 million in early postsecondary planning, including Career and Technical Education (CTE), dual enrollment, early/middle colleges, and AP, IB, CLEP; and over $580 million in state financial aid programs for high school graduates, adults over the age of 25, students who had been on medicaid, and students seeking to become educators, along with other groups of students. Over $650 million was budgeted for the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential and $1 million was budgeted for student success and wraparound support. Current legislative proposals include:

• SB 382 and SB 383 would codify the state’s newest and most lucrative state financial aid program, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. Both bills must be passed for either to become law. The law would permanently lower the age of eligibility from 25 to 21 for the MI Reconnect program, a community college tuition-free pathway for adults. While a temporary age expansion was previously funded using federal pandemic relief money, SB 233 would make this change a permanent part of Michigan state law.
• Other bills focus on continued investments in and streamlining of Michigan financial aid programs, outreach efforts, and data transparency.

New York

On May 8, 2025, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed the 2025-26 Enacted New York State Budget. The budget:

• Creates the New York State Opportunity Promise Scholarship, which provides funding for fundamentals such as tuition, fees, books, and supplies for students between the ages of 25 and 55 to pursue degrees at state community colleges in high-demand fields.
• Includes $12 million in first-time dedicated funding for Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) and Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) programs for the State University of New York (SUNY), $8 million in continued funding for ASAP and ACE for the City University of New York (CUNY), and continued funding for the Education Opportunity Program (EOP). ASAP, ACE, and EOP provide students with academic, financial, and personal support to succeed in college.
• Increases the Excelsior Scholarship award to equal the resident tuition rate at SUNY.

Policy changes included:

• Adding requirements to the standard financial aid award letter to include the net cost of college and loan repayment options (A3464/S4200);
• A requirement that private nonprofit postsecondary institutions that service student loans report aggregate data to the New York State Department of Financial Services, similar to other student loan servicers (A8067/S7752A); and
• An expansion of the state’s basic consumer protection statute to ban unfair and abusive practices that gives the Office of the Attorney General enforcement authority, but leaves individual students without legal recourse for unfair and abusive practices (A8427/S8416).

Key Policy Levers: A Perspective from the Classroom and the OneGoal Suite

As an educator who spends my days helping juniors and seniors navigate their transitions, I know that policy often feels like something that happens in a state capital far away. But when the right levers are pulled, and there is synchronicity in the direction of schools, administrations, educators and students, policy can change the entire energy of my classroom and even my one-on-one advising sessions. Here is how state-level strategy actually hits the ground in our schools:

Counselor and Advising Supports

We all know the math: when a counselor has hundreds of students and juggles school-wide priorities, the support is often just a quick check-in, where counselors share resources and advice to the best of their abilities. State policies that fund more positions or mandate better ratios are game-changers. But it’s also about how we advise. As a OneGoal Program Director, I see the power of specialized advising every day. Because our state supports these integrated models, I can move beyond the “if” of college and focus on the “how.” Whether it’s the intensive FAFSA support or the credit-bearing sequence we lead, state-backed funding for this type of deep, relational advising ensures that our Fellows aren’t just names on a spreadsheet—they are prepared applicants with a utility belt of resources and a support system.

Dual Enrollment and Advanced Coursework

Access is the ultimate equalizer. When policy expands early college and dual enrollment, it shatters the remediation trap that catches so many of our first-generation students. In my role, I see students gain an entirely new identity when they realize they’ve already passed a college-level course while sitting in a high school desk. It lowers the financial barrier and builds the college-going muscle before they even set foot on a campus.

Data and Reporting

You can’t fix what you can’t see. Strong state data is a teacher’s cornerstone, and their lighthouse. They allow me and my fellow educators to look at the numbers and ask the hard questions: Who is enrolling? Who is finishing? Who is getting stuck in the workforce without a credential? Who is not considering all their options? Who needs to better consider their “best fit?” When we have clear reporting on a student’s aspirations, skills, directions, and next steps, or on who is completing their postsecondary journey, we can adjust our classroom strategies in real time to close the equity gaps that have persisted for far too long.

Q&A

What counts as “postsecondary support” in state policy?

This typically includes college and career advising, postsecondary planning, dual enrollment, aligned coursework, career pathways, and systems for tracking post-graduation outcomes.

Why are states focusing more on accountability now?

T Graduation rates alone don’t tell the full story. States want to know whether students enroll in college, persist, complete credentials, or transition successfully into the workforce.

How do these policies affect educators day-to-day?

They often shape graduation requirements, counseling expectations, use of data, and access to programs like dual enrollment or career pathways.

What role can schools play in influencing state policy?

Schools can share implementation insights, highlight gaps, and advocate for resources that help policies translate into real student support.

What does “zip code gatekeeping” mean in the context of dual credit?

It refers to disparities in access to advanced courses based on a student’s location. Recent Illinois updates (HB 5020) require schools and colleges to negotiate partnerships quickly to ensure access is not restricted by a student’s district.

How can “Universal FAFSA” policies improve college accessibility??

By requiring all high school seniors to complete the FAFSA or formally opt out, states ensure that students do not miss out on available financial aid due to a lack of information or support.

David Soto has been a Chicago resident his entire life. From being a Chicago Public Schools student, to attending both Saint Xavier University to the University of Illinois at Chicago, David has always been deeply devoted to Chicago. He is currently teaching high school history in the IB program and is a OneGoal Program Director at Prosser Career Academy. He sponsors and leads the Student Voice Committee at Prosser, which continually inspires him as a community member.

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