npr:

New Mexico has announced a plan to make public college and university free for all residents in the state, a proposal considered one of the most ambitious attempts to make higher education more accessible.

The plan, if approved by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature, would allow students, regardless of household income, to attend any of the 29 state’s public colleges and universities. State officials estimate that the program, officially called the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, will help 55,000 students each year attend college.

Calling the plan “the moonshot for higher education,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the initiative on Wednesday at the New Mexico Higher Education Summit in Albuquerque.

“It means better enrollment. It means better student success. In the long run, it means economic growth, improved outcomes for New Mexico workers and thinkers and parents,” Lujan Grisham said. “It means a better trained and better compensated workforce.”

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