Washington, DC— Today, education and civil rights organizations representing millions of students and stakeholders nationwide issued the following joint statement:
“If emerging reports of the Biden Administration abandoning tuition-free community college are true, it would be a massive blow to 8 million students who would have benefited. President Biden was elected by record-breaking numbers of young voters, who decided the election in key states, on a promise of tuition-free two and four-year public colleges for families earning up to $125,000. President Biden must urge his fellow Democrats to restore the tuition-free community college proposal to keep his promises, and maintain voters’ faith that democracy can improve their lives. Furthermore, cutting America’s College Promise on the basis of cost makes no sense because it is the least costly of any major proposal in the Build Back Better bill. Scholarships are a woefully inadequate solution that will perpetuate the endless cycle of rising tuition and student loan debt. We, the undersigned organizations, urge the White House and Congress to keep the America’s College Promise proposal in the Build Back Better bill.”
Signed:
-
Rise, Inc.
-
The NAACP
-
The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice
-
We, the 45M
-
Think of Us
-
National Young Farmers Coalition
-
LeadMN – College Students Connecting for Change
-
Suffolk Progressives
-
Fort Valley State University Student Association
-
Association of Young Americans
-
Broward for Progress
-
The Rural Coalition
-
GENup (Generation Upward)
-
Land Loss Prevention Project
-
Roots of Royalty
-
University Council-American Federation of Teachers
-
CUNY Rising Alliance
-
North Carolina A&T Students
-
The Campaign for Free College Tuition
-
Young Invincibles
-
Alliance for Youth Action
-
Spelman College Students
-
Georgia NAACP Youth & College Division
-
The Debt Collective
-
Zero Debt Massachusetts
-
New Era Colorado
-
Blue Future
-
Peter Granville, The Century Foundation
-
The Education Trust
- Mississippi Votes
The Arizona Students Association
Our Wisconsin Revolution
