Tennessee Lawmakers Approve Plan to Make Community College Free

The Tennessee legislature has overwhelmingly approved Gov. Bill Haslam’s signature proposal to create a program that would pay the tuition and fees for two years for all state high-school graduates who want to go to a community or technical college, the Associated Press reported. The State House of Representatives voted, 87 to 8, in favor of the plan, called the Tennessee Promise, on Tuesday, a day after the Senate approved it, 30 to 1.

Higher-education officials and leaders of national college-completion efforts have mostly praised the plan, saying it would encourage more students to go to college, including low-income students who might have been dissuaded before by the sticker price.