The House Bill 904: The In-State Tuition

In “Undocumented students’ Access to College: The American Dream Denied,” Chavez, Soriano and Olivia (2007) have stated that millions of students who live in United States are undocumented immigrants; most of them come to U.S at a very young age. They completed their high school and achieved great academic success, some of them even got admitted by well know universities. From 2002 onwards , Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540) , authorized by the late Marco Antonio Firebaugh , allows any student who has completed three years high school, and received a high school diploma or equivalent in California, regardless of their immigration status, are legally allowed to attend colleges and universities (Chavez,Soriano and Oliverez 256).Even though they are eligible to apply and be admitted to universities, but they are not eligible to apply for federal financial aid, without the help of financial aid, it is extremely difficult for them to afford tuition. In this case, it severely limits undocumented student’s chances for upward mobility.

The audience for the Tuition Reimbursement Proposal is the Executive Leadership Board at Oregon Providence Health Plans. In addition, this board consists of eight members, highly educated professionals, with years of experience, and speak fluid English. Providence Health Plans believe strongly in employee education, whether it is learning new software programs or for personal job growth. Furthermore, because the organization is supportive of their employees, the proposal should receive a positive response. Although, one area of concern is the budget cuts that affect all the departments within the Healthcare Plan. It will be important to provide detailed facts to support my position on this proposal and why it is valid, even though the organization

In 2001, Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540) passed in California allowing undocumented students, who met specific requirements, the opportunity to pay in-state level tuition at any, CSU, UC, of community college of California (Diaz, 2011). This new section of the California Education Code created an exemption for undocumented students who were required to pay non-resident fees. In order for undocumented students to benefit from the AB 540 Bill they must have met certain requirements which include, a) attended a California high school for 3 full years, b) will of have graduated from a California high school or received an equivalent of a diploma, c) must register or be

The DREAM Act plays a big role in the nation’s effort to have the highest proportion of graduates in the world by 2020 (Miranda). Allowing this to pass would reduce the drop out rate significantly all throughout the country. 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school every year. In Luis Miranda’s Get The Facts On The Dream Act, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has stated that passing the Dream Act will allow “these young people to live up to their fullest potential and contribute to the economic growth of our country.” It gives students the incentive to go through school and get a degree. When undocumented students are attending school, some colleges wont accept them. Knowing that, they do not have the drive or interest in pursuing a college degree. A lot of immigrants now will finish high school, get there diploma, then go find a job. Having this bill passed will change the education in the United States forever.

This paper will overview several federal and state legislations in regards to an undocumented child's rights to a public education, overview controversial laws that are trying to hinder their right to education, and conclude with the implication of these political decisions on the undocumented child.

Angela M. Banks states, “while a number of states prohibit undocumented students from being eligible for in-state tuition rates, only Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina prohibit these students from enrolling in public colleges and universities” (1425). While American students can pay in-state tuition to attend college. Again, immigrant students are not given the same privilege. Furthermore, immigrant students have a hard enough time getting into college, now they might not even be able to pay for it due to the fact they are not being treated like any other in-state student trying to better themselves. In all, children who have been brought to America as a child by their parents should be able to have the same rights as an American citizen. It only seems fair since they had no say on whether they wanted to come to America or

In the article “The Real Reason College Tuition Costs so Much,” author Paul F. Campos makes a deliberative argument that the cost of higher education is not caused by public funding being cut. Campos uses invention, arrangement, and style techniques in order to structure his argument and persuade his audience. His argument also contributes to the general debate in the cost of education because it is in conversation with other texts and researchers. Campos’ argument effectively contributes to the debate on the cost of higher education because he uses invention techniques, anecdotes, and counterarguments in order to prove that a lack of public funding has not caused the dramatic increase in tuition costs.

Many students, in general are able to afford and attend college due to the support of government funding. However, many undocumented students are unfortunate to obtain any financial assistance because of certain rules and regulation that affect their eligibility. In 1996, Congress passed a major bill involving with reforming national immigration called the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which to enforce, restrict and imposed limitation on illegal immigrants (IIRIRA, 1996). In Title V, eligibility for undocumented aliens are restricted for public assistance and benefits (IIRIRA, 1996). One specific restrictions is to limit and denied any alien who is not lawfully present in the United States, eligibility

The first state to adopt a law allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities was Texas. This law is so-called “The Dream Act.” To qualify for this act an immigrant student must have graduated high school or received a GED in Texas, must live in the state for three years, and sign an affidavit confirming that they are seeking legal residency. According to the Education Commission of the States, since 2001, Washington, Utah, Oklahoma, New York, New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois, and California have adopted similar laws. Some conservative Texas legislators have filed to repeal The Dream Act. Their opinion is that it is unfair to legal U.S. citizens from other states that are required to pay out-of-state tuition. This act also requires taxpayers to pay higher education costs for undocumented immigrants. Others argue that many come to America through no choice because their parents illegally came to the country. They believe it is unfair to punish the students for their parents’ decisions. Bills that have tried to take away the Texas Dream Act have failed thus far. ("Tribpedia: Dream Act | The Texas Tribune." The Texas Tribune. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 July 2015.)1

The Texas Senate Bill 1819 would repeal a 2001 HB 1403 that allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. The Bill was proposed by Texas State Sen. Donna Campbell, who feels, “We need to direct our resources first and foremost to the legal residents of Texas.” The current law allows illegal alien students who have lived in Texas for at least three years that pledge to apply for legal status, to pay in-state tuition rates. Bill 1819 would terminate this law and let universities establish a policy to, “verify to the satisfaction of the institution” that a student is a legal resident or citizen. It would affect all illegal immigrant students applying to Texas Colleges and Universities.

The bill came close to passing after debates in the Senate and the House in 2010, coming eight votes short and enduring a filibuster. The bill has been promoted by some advocates as a way to fulfill the military shortage crisis and has helped some states clarify residency status for the purpose of funding higher education and setting in-state tuition levels (Forenza and Mendonca 292). Since the act remained unpassed, a more restricted variation known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) came into effect instead, which offered limited status for alien minors who attended high school or entered higher education. However, these revisions have not led to any formal policy on educational assistance and/or residency status for alien minors.

Comprehensive Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) mainly controlled immigration law in the United States that focus on the needs of undocumented immigrants and their nationality. Early attempts to support young undocumented immigrants in the United States, began on April 25, 2001, when Luis Gutierrez Illinois congressman introduced in the House of Representatives a bill called "Immigrant Children's Educational Advancement and Dropout Prevention Act of 2001 ". This proposal amends the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996 on the benefits of higher education. With this proposal Gutierrez, intended at the time of becoming a law to stop undocumented Students will be allowed to make a

In the recent debate regarding the implementation of free college tuition across the United States, Jon Wiener, a Los Angeles journalist for The Nation, and Kelly Field, chief Washington reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education who covers different federal education policies, discuss why college tuition should be abolished in the United States of America and the role of both Democratic and Republican parties on the debate. In the article, “It’s Time to End Tuition at Public Universities - and Abolish Student Debt,” published by the Nation in March 2015, Jon Wiener annotates the crippling debt that college

The Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors, more commonly known as it’s acronym, The Dream Act, is a parliamentary proposition to allow illegal aliens and their children to have the option of continuing their education into college. There are some differentiating opinions of this proposition. According to Yeh Ling-Ling, the main reason for Congress not supporting this bill is due to the lack of funding which will only increase the nation’s debt. With this being said, the students attending college through financial aid will be able to repay the debt they once claimed. It’s designed mainly for the people who have graduated high school or obtained a GED in America, but due to the immigration laws are unable to attend College or a higher academic setting.

When I first applied for autumn quarter of 2017 I thought I would get instate tuition after taking a year off to work. However, the waiting period for the acceptances of instate tuition was not clarified to me and things got shuffled. I applied in the beginning of September thinking I would qualify before the school quarter started. But I was told that it would take around 6 weeks for my application to go through due to the large amount of applications that had to be revised. Not wanting to delay my education any further I decided to pay the full price of out of state tuition while my application was going through. I thought that I would qualify for instate tuition and get reimbursed for the tuition I had paid. Unfortunately, when the residency