Could New York’s free college tuition plan spread across the U.S.?

Hundreds of thousands of New York students would be able to attend college for free under a proposal announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to make state universities tuition-free for residents earning $125,000 or less.

The Democrat unveiled his plan Tuesday at LaGuardia Community College in Queens alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sanders, who pushed for free tuition at all U.S. public colleges during his Democratic presidential campaign, called Cuomo’s proposal “revolutionary.”

Comparing student loan debt to “starting a race with an anchor tied to your leg,” Cuomo said his Excelsior Scholarship program, if approved by lawmakers, would apply to full-time students who attend State University of New York or City University of New York colleges, including two-year community colleges.

“It should be a wake-up call to this nation,” Cuomo said, “to say if you really want to be competitive globally, we have to have the best educated workforce, and that means we have to have college for every child, man or woman who wants to attend.”

Mr. Cuomo, a Democratic centrist thought to have presidential ambitions, has tracked left on a series of issues during his second term, championing a higher minimum wage and paid family leave, though he continues to face criticism from some progressive groups over sometimes working closely with Senate Republicans.

Democratic President Barack Obama proposed free community college in 2015, saying six states and communities had created programs similar to what he proposed. He said lawmakers in more than 10 other states have introduced legislation providing for free community college.

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