The Gaps in New York's Free-College Plan
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced plans to provide free tuition at the state’s public two- and four-year colleges to residents making up to $125,000. Standing next to former presidential contender Bernie Sanders just a couple weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Cuomo reinvigorated a movement that some feared dead after the defeat of Sanders in the Democratic primary and deader than dead with Hillary Clinton’s loss. The governor’s declaration that “a college education is not a luxury—it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility” and his commitment to making sure that all New Yorkers have access to college “no matter what zip code they come from” was applauded on social media by Clinton, U.S. Education Secretary John King, and others.
It did not take long, however, for education researchers to highlight the potential flaws in his plan,
