California students today filed an unprecedented ballot initiative with the Attorney General that would freeze tuition increases at University of California and California State University schools for five years, and to tie tuition increases to the price of inflation after the freeze expires.
The initiative raises new funds to ensure the continued quality of undergraduate education at these schools by imposing a 1% tax on the wealthiest California residents, and creates a panel of students and parents that will review how this new revenue is spent.
According to a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, more than 80% of Californians that were polled are worried about the cost of higher education, but the campaign will still be fighting an uphill battle. While most ballot initiatives in California are bankrolled by large donors and rely on paid canvassers, this campaign is working with a smaller budget and organizing students and other volunteers to collect the signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot.
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