Democrats want a Florida Dream Act for some illegal immigrants

dreamy14 · 10-21-2011, 05:40 PM

Quote:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- State Representative Reggie Fullwood (D-Jacksonville) filed legislation today to stop the practice of forcing legal residents from paying expensive out-of-state tuition at Florida’s colleges and universities.

House Bill 441 allows United States citizens to qualify for less expensive, in-state college tuition rates if they are four-year students and graduates of Florida high schools.

Currently, students who are legal citizens, but are children of undocumented immigrants, are required to pay out-of-state tuition even if they have lived in Florida their entire lives.

“Florida’s current policy denies many United States citizens a pathway to a better life because they are forced to pay much higher college tuition than students paying in-state rates,” said Representative Fullwood. “Many of these citizens come from struggling families and simply can’t afford the higher tuition. My goal is simply to make college affordable for all United States citizens and Florida residents so they can get good jobs and improve Florida’s economy. This is truly an issue of fairness and equality that must be addressed.”

Representative Fullwood began studying ways to improve Florida’s residency requirements last summer after seeing reports of legal citizens who have given up hope of attending college merely because of the likelihood of having to pay out-of-state tuition and fear of exposing on college applications their parents as undocumented residents.

In addition to having to attended and graduate from a Florida high school, House Bill 441 requires citizens to enroll for college within a year of graduating, and they must submit their high school transcripts to the college or university in which they are applying.

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