RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Community college leaders from Virginia and other states are banding together to fight for policies that would benefit schools they say are undervalued.

Virginia Community College System Chancellor Glenn DuBois and his counterparts in Louisiana, North Carolina and Indiana have formed Rebuilding the Middle Class. The coalition, which held its first meeting last week in the group’s home base of Indianapolis, is raising money in hopes of building its profile among the public and with lawmakers.