WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-Binghamton) is reaching out to parents of college and graduate students who may be up all night worrying about affording tuition.

Education tax credits are available to families earning $200,000 or less, he said, and have been since the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was passed in February.

“I’m reminding New Yorkers about this law. Forty percent of New Yorkers don’t know of this new law,” he said in a conference call to reporters Friday.

For every dollar spent on college tuition, a middle class family can receive a dollar off on their taxes, up to $2,500. The provision is currently in affect for the 2009 tax year for taxes filed in April 2010.