Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam Believes Education Will Make or Break Economy, Comments on Black Lives Matter Protests

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has penned a commentary recently and he talked about education making or breaking the economy of the United States. He also recently gave his opinion on the growing Black Lives Matter protests due to the recent police-related fatal shootings.

In his commentary, Haslam said that since 2012, conversations about economic development were linked to education noting that they have talked about needing 55 percent of Tennesseans to have a post-secondary degree or a certificate by 2025. This would mean that if this is reached, the economy of Tennessee will keep growing. In 2012, only 32 percent of their citizens held post-secondary degree or a certificate.

The administration and their state legislature then worked with universities and education advocates in order to launch the initiative called Drive 55 in an attempt to reach the 55 percent target. Haslam continued to reveal that in 2014, he signed Drive 55 into law.

NBC reported that Tennessee is the first state to guarantee two years of tuition-free community or technical college as well as mentorship to high school graduates for them to better understand what they want to take up after graduation. This is part of the Drive 55 initiative.

In the commentary, Haslam said that the youth is embracing the initiative as there have been many remarkable changes since the initiative was signed into law. Accordingly, the first-time freshman enrollment at public institutions in the state has increased by 10.1 from 2014 to 2015. Also, the increase of college enrollees for the class that started in the fall of 2015 increased to 4.5 percent compared to the same time in 20114.

Another major outcome from the Drive 55 of Tennessee is that it has become the leading state in the nation for the most high school seniors completing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 68 percent of the 2015 class have submitted and completed the form.

Haslam also recently commented on the Black Lives Matter protests that have started to pick up once again after the shootings in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Haslam said that all lives matter since five Dallas police officers were also shot and killed by a gunman after the killings in Louisiana and Minnesota.