Today, Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I – Black River) offered his support for the Assembly Minority’s plan to better prepare students for the workforce as well as combat rising costs of tuition for higher education.

“For years, the cost of higher education has continued to rise, making it difficult for middle-class families to keep up. Today, my Assembly Minority Conference put forth a plan to help middle-class families’ dreams of higher education for their children more of a reality.

“This plan will not only increase the options students have when it comes to taking out loans, but it will also set up a “Learning for Work” program to teach students the skills necessary for their careers. New York State is home to some of the best colleges in the country, and I am proud to be part of the conference that’s taking steps toward helping our young adults pursue their dreams.”

The measures proposed by the Assembly Minority would help middle-class families across New York State by:

• Launching a “Learning for Work” program in New York high schools, designed to accelerate career readiness by offering apprenticeships and enhanced professional degrees. The legislation creates a $1,500 per apprentice tax credit for businesses which accept apprentices (A.8695).
• Increasing transparency by requiring colleges and universities to disclose certain financial statistics to students (A.8681).
• Creating a Student Loan Payment Tax Deduction of up to $4,000 for single filers; $6,000 for head of household filers; and $8,000 for married filers (A.8675).
• Endowing the Community College Merit and Mobility Scholarship Program, which offers the state’s top high school graduates $1,000/year scholarships to attend a New York State community college (A.8691).
• Petitioning the federal government to support legislation which would increase the options available for refinancing federal student loan debt (K.00903).