Sacramento Bee (Editorial): Republicans are threatening a referendum campaign to undo the new California Dream Act, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, has a "Stop the Nightmare Act" website.
But here's a more frightening prospect: Kids raised in California, schooled in California, graduating from California high schools, getting accepted to a college or university, and not being able to attend because they can't get financial aid.
That's not just a nightmare for those individuals. It's a nightmare for the state. It's a self-inflicted loss of homegrown talent, where the state already has made a substantial investment in their elementary and secondary school education.
The Dream Act is the logical extension of Assembly Bill 540, authored by Democrat Marco Firebaugh and Republican Abel Maldonado in 2001. For a decade, any individual – regardless of immigration status – who graduates from a California high school after attending for three years qualifies for the same in-state tuition offered to other California residents.
This latest law expands AB 540 to allow these students to apply for financial aid, starting in January 2013.
Every year, about 25,000 students graduate from California high schools into a sort of limbo. Though they've been raised and schooled here, they find out at some point they were brought to California – through no choice of their own – by parents who either came as unlawful immigrants or overstayed visas.
To be eligible for in-state tuition and financial aid, students have to sign an affidavit stating they have filed an application to legalize their immigration status or will file such an application as soon as they are allowed to so do.
The decade-old AB 540 annually has given in-state tuition to fewer than 1 percent of students in California's public colleges and universities. The new financial aid piece will affect even fewer students.
Under the new law, UC estimates that 500 AB 540 students, out of 220,000 total UC students, would be eligible for financial aid. CSU estimates 1,800 AB 540 students, out of 440,000 students, would qualify. Community colleges estimate 18,000 AB 540 students, out of 2.9 million students, would be eligible for fee waivers.
Other California students will continue to get financial aid. The new law requires that the number of financial aid awards offered by campuses not be diminished by expanding access for AB 540 students.
The new law allows AB 540 students to apply for competitive Cal Grants, but only after all other eligible California students get awards. Analysts say "it is unlikely that AB 540 students would receive funds from this program."
With his signature, Gov. Brown has sent a positive message: California has a huge stake in the success of these talented and ambitious homegrown students. As graduates of this state's universities, they will become productive members of society.
Now that California has adopted its version of the Dream Act, officials here need to push hard for a federal Dream Act, which would puts these students on a path to citizenship.
But here's a more frightening prospect: Kids raised in California, schooled in California, graduating from California high schools, getting accepted to a college or university, and not being able to attend because they can't get financial aid.
That's not just a nightmare for those individuals. It's a nightmare for the state. It's a self-inflicted loss of homegrown talent, where the state already has made a substantial investment in their elementary and secondary school education.
The Dream Act is the logical extension of Assembly Bill 540, authored by Democrat Marco Firebaugh and Republican Abel Maldonado in 2001. For a decade, any individual – regardless of immigration status – who graduates from a California high school after attending for three years qualifies for the same in-state tuition offered to other California residents.
This latest law expands AB 540 to allow these students to apply for financial aid, starting in January 2013.
Every year, about 25,000 students graduate from California high schools into a sort of limbo. Though they've been raised and schooled here, they find out at some point they were brought to California – through no choice of their own – by parents who either came as unlawful immigrants or overstayed visas.
To be eligible for in-state tuition and financial aid, students have to sign an affidavit stating they have filed an application to legalize their immigration status or will file such an application as soon as they are allowed to so do.
The decade-old AB 540 annually has given in-state tuition to fewer than 1 percent of students in California's public colleges and universities. The new financial aid piece will affect even fewer students.
Under the new law, UC estimates that 500 AB 540 students, out of 220,000 total UC students, would be eligible for financial aid. CSU estimates 1,800 AB 540 students, out of 440,000 students, would qualify. Community colleges estimate 18,000 AB 540 students, out of 2.9 million students, would be eligible for fee waivers.
Other California students will continue to get financial aid. The new law requires that the number of financial aid awards offered by campuses not be diminished by expanding access for AB 540 students.
The new law allows AB 540 students to apply for competitive Cal Grants, but only after all other eligible California students get awards. Analysts say "it is unlikely that AB 540 students would receive funds from this program."
With his signature, Gov. Brown has sent a positive message: California has a huge stake in the success of these talented and ambitious homegrown students. As graduates of this state's universities, they will become productive members of society.
Now that California has adopted its version of the Dream Act, officials here need to push hard for a federal Dream Act, which would puts these students on a path to citizenship.
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