Policy and Politics

President Joe Biden is asking Congress to authorize $109 billion to make two years of community college tuition-free for all Americans, including for unauthorized immigrants. The request is one part of the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, which also includes $39 billion to subsidize two years of tuition at four-year minority-serving schools, and $80 billion to increase the Pell Grant and support completion and retention in higher education. Higher education leaders are praising the plan, saying it is a significant step. Terry W. Hartle, a senior vice president at the American Council on Education, called the plan a “fully certified innovation,” and said the community college plan could “easily revolutionize access to higher education in the United States.” In a visit to a community college in Virginia, Biden outlined the tax plan that would help pay for the benefits. Some experts, however, warn that free community college could be putting students at a disadvantage “by diverting them to colleges where they’re less likely to succeed, and that it could provide free tuition to those who can already afford it.”