MassLive: Bill would cover cost of one year of college for low-income students in Massachusetts

Here's some great coverage of the push for debt-free public higher education, including Representative Higgins' Finish Line Grant (H3000)!


www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/finish_line_scholarship_bill_w.html

By Alban Murtishi
[email protected]
State lawmakers want to give some Massachusetts residents the opportunity to attend one year of public college for free. 
The proposal comes in the form of the Finish Line Scholarship Program bill, which was introduced by State Representatives Sean Garballey, of Arlington, and Natalie Higgins, of Leominster. 
The scholarship would cover the entire cost of tuition and fees for one year of a public college in a program leading to an associate's or bachelor's degree. However, it would only be available to residents whose family income is less than twice the median family income in Massachusetts. 
A hearing for the bill was scheduled for Joint Committee on Higher Education for Thursday. The bill still has many hurdles to overcome before a free year of college becomes a right.
The bill calls for the Department of Higher Education to set guidelines for eligibility, which could include grades and the student's academic plan for degree completion. 
"We're forcing our students to figure out, do I pay for my class and my textbooks or do I put food on my table, and we should not have that in the United States and definitely not in Massachusetts. Public higher education is a right," Higgins told 22News.