Cuomo Signs Bill to Send Poor to College

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Thursday signed legislation creating a unique program to assure a college education for all qualified students from poor families, calling the measure an “investment in our children.”

The Liberty Scholarship program, the first in the country to guarantee public financing for education beyond high school, will provide $90 million in aid for an estimated 90,000 students by the 1994-95 school year, officials said. The first scholarships are to be awarded in 1991-92.

“This investment in our children will be repaid many times over, in a better educated citizenry, skilled and eager to build New York’s future,” Cuomo said. The legislation provides state grants to make up the difference between existing student aid and the actual costs of tuition, housing, transportation and supplies for low-income students.