(U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES - A bill being reviewed in the state Assembly would expand availability of campus-based financial aid to anyone eligible for in-state tuition, including undocumented students.
California Senate Bill 160, proposed by University of California, Los Angeles, alumnus Sen. Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would give students who have attended a California high school for three years and are eligible for in-state tuition access to campus-administered financial aid such as University of California grants and loans.
The bill would make such aid available to undocumented students who are currently unable to apply for financial aid because it is administered through the FAFSA, which requires a Social Security number to apply.
SB 160 has passed by the state Senate and is currently being amended in the Assembly.
Campus-administered financial aid, such as UC grants, cannot be used to cover out-of-state tuition costs, but under SB 160 would be made available to noncitizens who qualify for residency under the standards set out in California Assembly Bill 540.
AB 540, which was signed into law in 2001, allows students who attended California high schools for three years to pay only standard fees and not nonresident tuition i½ a difference of more than $17,000 for undergraduates.
Opponents to SB 160 say the bill does not align with federal law and that noncitizens would have benefits citizens do not. But some say the legislation will improve access to higher education.
SB 160 would have its largest impact on students who do not have citizenship, because they are not eligible for federal student aid programs or Cal Grants. Under SB 160, students could apply for campus aid separately from FAFSA.
SB 160 would not just provide aid to undocumented students, but also citizens who would not be considered in-state residents without AB 540.
About 70 percent of AB 540 students are citizens or legal residents, said UC spokesman Ricardo Vazquez.
It is likely that only the undocumented students would apply for state aid separately, said Cedillo's spokesman Eric Guerra, because citizens who were ineligible for campus-administered aid before SB 160 could acquire it by filling out the FAFSA.
Though undocumented students no longer have to pay out-of-state tuition if they meet AB 540 requirements, it can still be difficult to pay for even in-state fees, Guerra said.
"There are some small scholarships but it's just not significant enough to really make an impact," Guerra said.
AB 540 was challenged in the courts in January by nonresident students who have been paying out-of-state tuition and say AB 540 is not in line with a 1996 federal law forbidding benefits being extended to noncitizens that aren't available to all U.S. citizens.
The UC, which voted to align its tuition policy with AB 540 in 2002, is fighting the lawsuit.
"UC believes our policies are indeed consistent with federal law," Vazquez said.
The UC would have to decide whether to adopt the SB 160 policy if the bill passes, as the bill only explicitly requires the California State University system to abide by it.
If AB 540 is found to be against federal law, SB 160 would also be denied, Guerra said.
Brian Bilbray, a former San Diego congressman who is running for reelection, said colleges and states have been too lenient in allowing undocumented immigrants to attend schools and receive aid.
"State government should not be trying to supersede the federal government," Bilbray said.
Bilbray is running on a strong anti-illegal immigration platform and is a part of the lawsuit challenging AB 540, as his two children pay out-of-state tuition.
Proponents of the legislation say that undocumented students are not the only ones to benefit from it, and that California's economy could benefit as well because the measure will help keep college-educated people in the state by lessening the cost of their education.
"Its an anti-brain-drain (policy)," Guerra said. "We're retaining our high school investment."
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