Thread: NY - Immigrant Aid, Special Ed on Regents Agenda

Immigrant Aid, Special Ed on Regents Agenda

Nov. 14, 2011, 8:14 a.m.

By Fernanda Santos

The New York State Board of Regents is poised to enter the next phase of its legislative push to help illegal immigrants who enter college by formally adopting a plan that would require the state to provide them with the same types of scholarships and tuition assistance offered to other students.

The proposal is among the items on the legislative agenda the board is set to vote on at its meeting in Albany on Monday.

It also includes support for reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind law, with certain tweaks. One of them would allow for different targets in test scores, graduation rates and other accountability measures for schools that serve certain types of students, including high number of students with learning disabilities and immigrants who are not proficient in English.

The push to offer tuition assistance to illegal immigrants attending public universities in the state is based on economics: It makes sense to help educate people who will eventually join the work force.

There are about 345,000 illegal immigrants attending K-12 public schools statewide, and about 2,000 in city and state universities in New York, according to a 2006 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The Regents’ proposal, which is expected to be approved, asks the State Legislature to pass a law giving illegal immigrants who graduate from high school in New York access to financial aid, scholarships, student loans and other types of incentives that are now offered only to United States citizens.

Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed a similar law last month, which also included giving illegal immigrants the right to pay in-state tuition, a benefit already available to those who live in New York.

The board will also consider lifting some of the mandates regulating the services provided to special education students, like the requirement that psychologists weigh in whenever students’ individualized education plans are changed. It is all in a bid to save money, according to the plan that will be up for discussion on Monday.

New York, which spends more than any other state on special education services, has about 200 more mandates than the federal government requires.

The recommendations came despite opposition from relatives of students who receive special education services, their teachers and advocacy groups, who spoke up during the proposal’s public comment period in the summer.
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/ ... ts-agenda/

NY making the welcome mat for IAs even larger. Taxpayers here have been forced to spend more to educate their children than are own for years.

Regents pushing legislation to provide financial aid to undocumented immigrants

Posted by: Cara Matthews - Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 14, 2011


One of the legislative priorities adopted by the state Board of Regents today would make undocumented immigrant students eligible for financial aid in New York. These students can attend public colleges in New York at in-state tuition rates, but they can’t get aid and some student loans. Those who don’t have the means may have to forego college education or drop out of college before completing their degree.

The Regents’ proposal, called the DREAMers Act, is a state version of the federal DREAM Act, legislation that appears to have little chance of success in this session of Congress. In addition to providing educational opportunities, the federal bill would provide these students with a path to citizenship. The Regents support the federal DREAM Act.

“I think the reality is these are students who are in our schools currently,â€