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

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 community college, saying the bill would create a grant program to cover tuition and mandatory fees for eligible Massachusetts residents at state public institutions. Senator Eric Eldridge, a lead sponsor, told the committee that aid in the proposal would be supplemental so it would not displace existing federal, state, or institutional grants and would include supports for Pell-eligible students to cover cost of attendance items such as room, board, books and transportation.

Student organizers described administrative delays and erratic financial aid outcomes. Rue, a UMass Amherst student organizer, recounted a verification delay that temporarily put her tuition at risk despite timely documentation: "I emailed my school's financial aid office a month prior... they responded eight days later informing me that I needed to submit documentation," she said. Other witnesses said the state introduced a tuition-free threshold for families with incomes under $100,000 but implementation delays mean some students did not receive the benefit until the winter semester.

Education advocates and unions called for a broader financing plan. Max Page of the Massachusetts Teachers Association said the state has made progress and must continue expanding public higher education as an economic and civic investment. Student leaders urged lawmakers to consider revenue proposals, including taxing very large private college endowments, as a funding source.

Witnesses also supported H.1459, a bill to modernize financial aid delivery and ensure statutory requirements for aid distribution so college funds reach students faster and with clearer rules. Advocates said that change would reduce semester-start crises caused by delayed student benefit disbursements.

No formal committee action occurred at the hearing. Members asked witnesses for follow-up data to quantify students affected and faster estimates on projected program costs; witnesses offered to supply the requested figures.