Ruggerio, Shekarchi Reverse Course, Introduce Legislation Making RI Promise Program Permanent
Saturday, January 30, 2021
House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio Friday introduced legislation to make the Rhode Island Promise program permanent — the provides up to two years of free tuition for eligible Rhode Islanders at Community College of Rhode Island.
The program is currently set to expire with the class entering CCRI in September 2021. Ruggerio and Shekarchi’s bill would remove the sunset provision, making the program permanent. “The Promise program is an excellent example of how we can prioritize affordable college options for all Rhode Islanders. The best investment we can make to help individuals achieve their goals is to give them the access to a college education, which is the pathway to a brighter future,” said Speaker Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick).
“Thousands of Rhode Island’s young adults and their families now know that a college degree can become a reality,” said CCRI president Megan Hughes.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFormer Speaker Nick Mattiello and his then-Majority Leader Shekarchi had placed a series of limits on the program. Governor Gina Raimondo, who championed the initiative had sought a higher level of funding for the program.
“We know that the promise of free college tuition is a powerful message, one that resonates with high school students and their families, many of whom doubted college could be part of their future. By making Rhode Island Promise permanent, current high school students, and even today’s middle schoolers, will see a path to a postsecondary degree. With this degree, Rhode Islanders will have the opportunity to build a better life for their families and Rhode Island employers will have a more robust and well-prepared workforce,” said Hughes.
“The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship Program works. It provides our students with the opportunity to succeed. It is a powerful, effective policy for our state and our economy. I believe now, more than ever, Rhode Island families need the security of knowing that, no matter their economic situation, their children have a path forward to a quality degree and, with it, a brighter future," Hughes added.
The program is open only to students graduating high school who begin CCRI the following fall. To keep the scholarship, they must be full-time students who qualify for in-state tuition, maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, and remain on track to graduate on time. As a “last-dollar” scholarship program, it funds only the remaining costs of tuition and mandatory student fees after Pell Grants and other sources of scholarship funding are factored in.
When originally proposed, Rhode Island Promise had a sunset provision that would have made it expire with the class that graduated high school in 2020 and entered CCRI that fall. The General Assembly included an expansion in the 2021 budget, extending to the program for students who are currently high school seniors. It currently costs $7 million per year.
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