Boston Secures $1 Million Federal Grant to Expand Tuition-Free Community College

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — Boston lands $1 million in federal funds to expand its tuition-free community college program. U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley announced the award at Bunker Hill Community College on July 19, calling it part of a broader $8 million package of federal community project funds for 10 projects across Massachusetts's 7th Congressional District. The $1 million will extend the city's Tuition-Free Community College program from its current base of approximately 860 Boston Public Schools students to 600 additional students and residents for fall 2022, across six participating institutions including Bunker Hill, Roxbury Community College, and the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. Mayor Michelle Wu said the federal investment will also seed $6 million in additional ARPA funding for workforce training in early childhood education and the green economy. Applications remain open at OWD.Boston.gov/TFCC. "This million dollars to fund and expand Boston's tuition-free community college program is a huge amount of money — it is a major step forward at just the right moment," Wu said.