Debt-Free College Act of 2026

The Education Department would award grants to participating states, with each grant set at the state’s net operating support for public higher education. States would use the funds first to cover unmet financial need for eligible students who receive Pell Grants, then for other eligible students based on need.

Eligible private nonprofit institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and certain other minority-serving institutions, could receive five-year grants for student aid. They would use 95 percent of grant funds for need-based aid for undergraduates who have not earned a bachelor’s degree and the remainder for specified institutional activities.

The bill would make qualifying DREAMer students eligible for Title IV federal student aid, including Pell Grants. Eligibility would require meeting an age-at-entry and U.S. secondary-school documentation test, along with at least one of several education, deferred-action eligibility, or military-service criteria; a hardship exception could waive the first two requirements.

States would have to cap public-college tuition and fees at enactment levels, with yearly increases allowed based on the Consumer Price Index, and maintain or increase state operating support. They would also have to protect access for low-income and underserved students, maintain need-based aid or use state funds toward the debt-free commitment, and adopt a five-year plan.

Participating institutions receiving grants would have to cap tuition and fees, maintain specified levels of instructional spending, low-income enrollment, and institutional aid, and report annually on grant use. States and colleges that withdraw or lose eligibility would have to take steps to protect aid for certain enrolled students.