This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
Published on September 18, 2019, New Mexico's plan for free college tuition is a bold move in the state's education landscape.
According to Tripp Stelnicki, a spokesman for Governor Lujan Grisham, 'This will take some high-quality politicking from the governor and others to make it happen.'
Despite the challenges, the plan has a strong foundation, as both chambers in New Mexico are controlled by Democrats. This has allowed legislators to increase spending on public education, with state and federal spending on early childhood programs, including prekindergarten, climbing to $546 million this year, a $135 million increase from the previous year.
Furthermore, New Mexico has given raises to public-school teachers and the faculty and staff of the University of New Mexico this year, marking a departure from the belt-tightening after the 2008 financial crisis.
The free-tuition plan points to the shifting political landscape in New Mexico, traditionally a swing state that is now emerging as a bastion of Democratic power in the West.
As Professor Zaloom of N.Y.U. notes, 'We should be looking at the examples from our own history.' Free college educations from the University of California, the City University of New York, and other public systems have been 'some of the most successful engines of mobility in this country.'
