Recently, Governor Cuomo announced his plans for free college tuition in New York State, after borrowing the idea from legislation that was introduced last year by Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte and Senator James Sanders, Jr. proposing their version of a free college tuition program based on President Obama's America's College Promise initiative for free community college tuition. The legislation has been re-introduced this year.

"I am delighted to see that my bill, the NY Promise Bill (A0929), introduced in the 2015 legislative session and reintroduced this session, along with Senator James Sanders, Jr. was more or less adopted by Governor Cuomo to finally make free college tuition a priority issue. Our bill will allocate $450 million and provide free tuition for community college, both city and state," said Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte. "Unfortunately, the amount of $163 million that he is proposing to allocate towards making college tuition free is not enough and it will do little to help low-income families."

The Governor's vision of offering free college tuition to all state colleges is being critiqued by many as yet another unrealistic vision that will not be carried out given the kinds of financial constraints and "limited revenue" that the Governor himself noted last year. Additionally, during the last legislative session, the Governor also stated that he wanted to raise the tuition of state colleges. So why the sudden change?

The Governor's plan although well intended, is not adequately funded, will hurt community colleges and small private colleges, and it will do little if anything at all to help low-income students and their families. In contrast, the NY Promise Bill (A0929), which allocates $450 million, will be able to help more families because the cost to fund community college tuition is lower so dollars will go further, it will help low-income and middle-income families because it will provide grants up to $1000 to help offset additional costs, and it will allow families to save more money over time. It will ultimately help baccalaureate colleges because many students will transfer after two years, debt-free. As with the America's College Promise initiative introduced by the Obama administration in 2015, this bill would allow many students who would have otherwise not attended college or who may have chosen a more expensive college. Starting a free community college tuition initiative could provide a win for everyone since it would allow a gradual phase-in to a full city and state four-year free college tuition policy.

"I believe that the legislation that I have introduced in conjunction with Senator James Sanders, Jr. to provide free college tuition for community college is a good first step, and more feasible," said Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte. The Governor needs to be cautious in his message, which is being misinterpreted by the people of New York to mean that his proposal will provide absolute free tuition and that it will be passed in our State Senate legislature, which is currently politically divided. In order to avoid empty promises, as elected officials we need to be transparent in our messaging and fiscally responsible with the people's budget. Creating the opportunity to obtain an affordable degree that prepares people for the demands of a global economy requires and deserves our best thinking. Our duty is not to over promise and under deliver. My bill, the NY Promise Bill (A0929), if passed will uphold its promise to the people this great State."

Click here to read the Observer article by Will Bredderman when the legislative was first introduced.