H.R. 10455 — Debt-Free College Act of 2026

This section establishes State-Federal partnerships to increase state investment in public higher education and enable eligible students to attend in-state public institutions without debt. It defines key terms including eligible student, debt-free college commitment, net state operating support per student, and public institution of higher education.

This section establishes a debt-free college grant program authorizing the Secretary to award 5-year grants to eligible institutions—including private nonprofit HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and certain MSIs with at least 35 percent Pell Grant recipients—to cover students’ unmet financial need. Grant amounts equal each institution’s annual expenditures on undergraduate instruction and academic support, with 95 percent of funds disbursed as need-based aid and 5 percent used for capacity-building activities such as facility renovation, faculty hiring, and student support services. Institutions must cap tuition and fees at enactment levels (with CPI adjustments) and maintain instruction expenditures at pre-enactment averages; the program excludes institutions that converted from for-profit status within the prior 25 years and limits waivers of the Pell threshold to no more than twice per grant period.

This section expands eligibility for federal grants, loans, and work assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act to Dreamer students. A Dreamer student must have entered the United States before age 16, provided a list of U.S. secondary schools attended, and met one of the following: earned a high school diploma or equivalent (or be on track to do so), completed at least two years toward a baccalaureate degree with satisfactory progress, qualified for deferred action under the June 15, 2012, or November 20, 2014, DHS memoranda, or served at least four years in the uniformed services with an honorable discharge. The Secretary may waive the entry-age or school-list requirements for compelling circumstances.