Clinton Joins Cuomo for Tuition-Free College Bill Signing Ceremony

Hillary Clinton joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday, April 12, at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City as he signed legislation enacting a plan to make state and community college education tuition-free.

Clinton endorsed a similar program while running for president as did her Democratic primary opponent Bernie Sanders. Though he was not at the bill-signing ceremony, Sanders joined Cuomo at an event last year announcing his tuition-free community college plan.

The scholarship plan, passed with the 2018 budget, makes public universities tuition-free for families earning less than $125,000 and would affect approximately 75 percent of the state’s families with college-aged children, according to a press release. Cuomo’s office has said his program is the first of its kind in the nation.

The plan is phased in over three years, with full implementation in 2019. Students in the program must be enrolled in college full-time and average 30 credits per year in order to receive full funding, though there is flexibility for students who face hardships and need to pause the program or take fewer credits in a semester. Once students graduate, they will be required to live and work in New York for the same number of years after graduation as the number of years they received the scholarship. Credit: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office via Storyful