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Students, Advocates Push Legislature to Advance Debt'Free Public Higher Education and Fix Financial Aid Delivery

5571117 · July 18, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Students, faculty and union leaders urged the Joint Committee on Higher Education to back bills to make public higher education debt-free and to reform how state financial aid is distributed so aid reaches students promptly.

Boston Dozens of students, faculty and union leaders urged lawmakers to back legislation to make Massachusetts public higher education debt-free and to reform state financial aid so funds reach students more quickly.

Senator Jo Comerford and House members presided over testimony from students who described working multiple jobs, juggling coursework and losing sleep to afford tuition and course materials. "You work a summer, fall, winter job, even two at once just to afford textbooks and maybe a semester bill," UMass Boston student Aden Pohl told the committee.

Supporters framed H.1436 / S.929 ("Debt Free Future Act") as the next step after free…

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