HB 854 creates a realistic path to tuition-free public higher education
By State Reps. Tristan Rader & Munira Abdulihi
For generations, Ohioans were told that if you worked hard, studied hard, and played by the rules, you could build a good life. Public education was supposed to be the ladder into the middle class. Today, for too many people, that ladder is breaking.
College tuition has skyrocketed. Student debt has exploded. Young people are delaying buying homes, starting families, or launching businesses because they are buried under loans before they even get their first real paycheck. At the same time, Ohio faces growing shortages of nurses, teachers, engineers, mental health professionals, and skilled workers across our economy.
That is why I am introducing House Bill 854 to make public college and trade school tuition-free in Ohio.
This bill is about more than affordability. It is about what kind of state we want to be.
Right now, we spend enormous amounts of public money subsidizing billion-dollar corporations, handing out tax breaks, and financing economic development deals behind closed doors, exempting data centers from paying taxes. Meanwhile, students and working families are told there is not enough money to invest in their future.
I reject that logic.
Public colleges and universities were never meant to operate like luxury products available only to those who can afford them. They are public institutions. Just like public schools, libraries, roads, and fire departments, they exist because an educated population benefits all of society.
When more Ohioans can afford higher education and workforce training:
- Our economy grows
- Businesses have access to skilled workers
- Communities become healthier and more stable
- Innovation increases
- Poverty declines
- Tax revenues rise over time
This is not radical. In many ways, it is a return to what public education was always supposed to be.
There was a time when states across America invested far more heavily in public higher education. Tuition was dramatically lower because lawmakers understood that education was a public good. Over the last several decades, we shifted costs onto students and families instead. The result has been crushing debt and declining trust in the promise that hard work leads to opportunity.
Ohio can choose a different path.
House Bill 854 would create a state-funded program that allows Ohio students to attend public colleges, universities, community colleges, and trade schools without paying tuition out of pocket. The goal is simple: if you are willing to work hard and pursue an education in Ohio, cost should not be the barrier that stops you.
The legislation focuses on public institutions because it is about strengthening Ohio’s public educational infrastructure and building a stronger workforce for the future. This includes:
- Four-year universities
- Community colleges
- Technical schools
- Skilled trades and workforce certification programs
This matters because Ohio’s economy increasingly depends on workers with specialized training and education. We need more nurses. More teachers. More electricians. More engineers. More healthcare workers. More skilled tradespeople.
But right now, too many people either cannot afford that training or leave Ohio after graduation because of debt and limited opportunity.
House Bill 854 takes a different approach. Instead of giving another round of tax cuts to the wealthiest Ohioans and hoping prosperity trickles down, this bill directly invests in Ohio’s people.
And importantly, the bill lays out a direct funding mechanism to pay for it.
Under House Bill 854, tuition-free higher education would be funded through a tax increase targeted only at the state’s highest earners, specifically individuals making more than $500,000 per year.
That means the overwhelming majority of Ohioans would not see their taxes increase at all.
At a time when wealth inequality continues to grow and working families are being squeezed by rising housing, healthcare, and education costs, asking the wealthiest Ohioans to contribute slightly more to help educate the next generation is both reasonable and economically smart.
The reality is that Ohio already spends billions every year on corporate subsidies, tax abatements, and loopholes. We are constantly told these investments will create growth. Yet many communities are still struggling, young people are leaving the state, and employers cannot find enough trained workers.
House Bill 854 proposes a different model for economic development:
Invest directly in people.
And the economic return on that investment would be enormous.
Research consistently shows that increased educational attainment leads to:
- Higher wages
- Greater productivity
- More entrepreneurship
- Increased tax revenue over time
- Lower unemployment
- Stronger local economies
In other words, tuition-free higher education is not simply social policy. It is workforce policy. It is economic policy. It is a long-term investment in Ohio’s future competitiveness.
This proposal is also fundamentally about fairness.
A student from Cleveland, Portsmouth, Lima, or rural Appalachian Ohio should not have their future determined by the wealth of their parents or the ZIP code they grew up in. Talent exists everywhere. Opportunity does not.
At its core, this bill asks a simple question:
What would Ohio look like if we invested in people with the same urgency that we invest in corporations?
I believe the answer is an Ohio that is stronger, healthier, more innovative, and where the economy works for all, not just the few at the top.
I also understand that bold ideas often face skepticism. Change rarely happens all at once. But leadership requires us to show people that a better system is possible. If we never articulate a larger vision for the future, we guarantee ourselves permanent stagnation.
This bill is about building that vision.
Ohio’s future should belong to the next generation, not to the burden of student debt.
[Originally published on Substack]
