Colorado to Cover Two Years’ Tuition at Any Public College

Colorado governor Jared Polis signed a bill last week that establishes a state-level promise program to cover tuition and fees for up to two years at trade schools and community colleges, as well as four-year institutions—a provision no other state is known to include. The bill, called the Incentives for Post-Secondary Education, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. It creates the Colorado Promise: Two Free Years of College Expanded, which uses a last-dollar tax credit—instead of grants or up-front subsidies—to cover 100 percent of tuition and fees for up to 65 credits for all students in good standing with a household income of $90,000 or less. Scheduled to go into effect next fall, the new plan augments existing promise programs offered by individual institutions, which generally cover one year’s worth of credits with an income cap of $60,000 to $70,000.