The Pennsylvania Senate on Monday advanced key components of Republicans' plan to make higher education more affordable and accessible in Pennsylvania. Their plan, which they have called “Grow PA,” runs counter to proposals from Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democratic lawmakers addressing the issue of college affordability.

Broadly speaking, the Republican senators' plan aims to provide scholarships to students in and outside of Pennsylvania who want to enter in-demand fields of the workforce. Students in these fields will be offered financial resources and scholarships. The terms of the program require students to stay in the state and work for a period of time after graduation.

Two bills that aim to do just that were amended in a session of the full Senate and are likely to advance in the next few days.

Another bill that would expand eligibility for the existing Ready to Succeed Scholarship program, which is aimed at low- and middle-income Pennsylvanians studying to enter in-demand fields of the workforce, passed with the approval of all but three senators.

The bill would raise the income limit of an eligible household from $126,000 to $175,000 and lower the GPA requirements from 3.25 to 2.5.

According to the bill's initiator, Senator Devlin Robinson (R-Allegheny), the bill would make an additional 24,000 students eligible for the scholarship.

“These small but important adjustments will result in more students being eligible for assistance,” Robinson said.

Senator Art Haywood (D-Montgomery) opposed the bill, saying the new cap of $175,000 would not sufficiently focus funds on students from low-income families. He also opposed lowering the GPA requirement to 2.5.

“This will result in a change in the prioritization of the students we will support,” Haywood said.

These bills directly contradict the Democrats' plan to improve higher education affordability, which Shapiro introduced earlier this year and essentially aims to cap tuition at $1,000 for all Pennsylvania residents attending public schools and community colleges and consolidate the administration of those schools.

Shapiro presents comprehensive plan for higher education reform in Pennsylvania

Not all of the bills presented on Monday were party political or controversial.

A bill that would provide scholarships for out-of-state students who are either living in foster care or are adopted as older teenagers passed the Senate unanimously.

“I am always happy when we can make our state more welcoming to students who have lived in foster care, wherever they come from,” said Senator Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny).

The Senate also voted to advance bills that are part of the broader Grow PA package that, among other things, aim to commission a study to change the state's higher education funding model to a performance-based model and establish a more comprehensive higher education task force.

Both bills were largely pushed forward on party political grounds.