A proposal by New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo would give free state college tuition to low- and middle-income students whose families make under $125,000 a year.
“College is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success,” Cuomo said Tuesday during an appearance at LaGuardia Community College, the New York Daily News reported. “And the way this society said we are going to pay for high school because you need high school, this society should say we’re going to pay for college because you need college to be successful.”
Cuomo’s program would need to be approved by the New York legislature, and would cover the $4,000 to more than $6,000 in annual state college tuition costs, but not room and board. The plan would cost an estimated $30,000 per student over four years, with a total annual cost of $163 million for the entire program, the Daily News reported.
The plan was supported by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who made free college tuition part of his campaign platform in 2016. Sanders appeared with Cuomo, saying, “What Governor Cuomo is proposing is a revolutionary idea for higher education,” the Daily News reported. Sanders decried the fact that many students leave college tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
It is not clear whether Cuomo’s plan will be approved by the legislature, which has been arguing over a pay raise and other financial issues, according to the New York Times. Cuomo would like the free tuition plan to begin rolling out in the fall of 2017.
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