Community college students across Minnesota are devastated that President Biden’s tuition free community college plan will not become a reality this year. America's College Promise was about restructuring the way that higher education works in America to ensure that everyone has a fair shot at the middle class.

The wealthy in America can attend elite private colleges that have the resources to help students achieve success and pursue their dreams. The rest of us face a road to our dreams that is riddled with inequities, and we are asked to drown in debt and despair for even a chance at economic mobility.

President Biden’s Free College plan sent an important message that all of our children should be able to pursue a college education without the burden of debt. If we are going to build an economy that works for everyone, Minnesota must commit to building a higher education system that is accessible to all Minnesotans, not just the wealthy few. 

Minnesota is already laying the foundation for free college programs with:

Legislators and the Governor need to reinvest in these programs and Workforce Scholarships to help more young people navigate the complexities of affording education beyond high school. If Minnesota is going to meet our future workforce needs, we have to tear down these barriers that prevent so many students from ever enrolling in or completing higher education.