A degree from a four-year college or university has always translated into higher income. Men and women with college degrees earn 45 percent more in their lifetimes than high school graduates. And now that technology has expanded the field of competition for jobs to workers all around the world, a college degree doesn't just mean more money, it means more job security; college graduates learn skills that make them flexible, adaptable, and able to cope with global competition.

Earlier this month, Missouri Rep. Rachel Storch, along with co-sponsor Minority Leader Jeff Harris, introduced House Bill 1643 to create the 21st Century Scholars Program to guarantee state college tuition assistance to low-income students who pledge to remain drug and alcohol free and maintain a 2.0 grade average.

"The 21st Century Scholars program opens the door to a successful future for our young students," said Storch. "This innovative program simultaneously helps guarantee access to post-secondary education and encourages healthy behavior. Establishing the 21st Century Scholars program will ensure that our students are part of the modern 'knowledge economy.'"

The program will ask 7th and 8th graders to sign a written pledge, along with a parent, not to use drugs or alcohol. By asking young teenagers to take responsibility for the scholarship early on, the program not only seeks to raise the college aspirations for low- and middle-income students, but also aims to lower the dropout rate by increasing students' investment in high school. The students must earn at least a 2.0 GPA and aggressively pursue available scholarships. The 21st Century Scholars Program will then cover any remaining tuition costs, as long as student have not been adjudicated for any drug or alcohol related crime or violated a school substance abuse policy.

The 21st Century Scholars program originated in Indiana in 1990, where it was spearheaded by then-Gov. Evan Bayh, now Indiana's Democratic senator and a former DLC chair. Between 1990 and 2001, the Scholars program in Indiana enrolled more than 70,000 students in college.

In Missouri, 624,000 students would be eligible to make the pledge this year. If the program paid out about $2,000 per student, as Indiana has, the total cost would be approximately $10 million per year. Storch and other Democrats hope to endow the scholarships with money from the sale of the assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, which will net about $450 million for the state.

In her first term, Storch has championed public education, health care, and crime prevention efforts -- many of the same issues she worked on as a senior policy advisor to Sen. Jean Carnahan. It didn't take long for her to get noticed. In 2005, Storch received one of St. Louis Magazine's "A-List" awards and was named "Best Local Politician" by the River Front Times, who said "she might be the sharpest and most compassionate local politico with a paydirt future."