Largely lost in the celebration over the passage of healthcare reform was another huge win for students and the rest of the education community: the legislation passed by Congress includes billions of dollars for student financial aid and community & technical colleges.

In addition to healthcare reform, the recently passed budget reconciliation bill cuts banks out of the student loan business and puts the federal government in charge of directly lending to students.  The savings from that change will help fund a new $36 billion allocation for Pell Grants — the biggest spending boost to the program for low-income students since it was created.  Between 2011 and 2017, the individual Pell Grant maximum will rise from $5,500 a year to $5,975.  Lawmakers also included a provision to have the Pell Grant amount adjust for inflation.  Previously, there was no such adjustment and in some years grant amounts remained stagnant while inflation grew.

The change to direct student lending also funds roughly $2 billion for grants to community colleges, to help students complete their studies. The $2 billion allocation is intended to partially fulfill the American Graduation Initiative, President Obama's ambitious 10-year, $12 billion investment in community and technical colleges.

The funds - spread over 4 years - will come through an existing Department of Labor program called Trade Adjustment Assistance.  Each state will be guaranteed $2.5 million per year.  The remainder of the money will be awarded through competitive grants, with priority given to communities that have been affected by trade.