Thread: CO-Bill , in-state tuition to illegals on hold until 2011

Bill to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants with 3 years of Colo. high school on hold until 2011
By Tim Hoover

Posted: 12/27/2009 01:00:00 AM MST


A bill to allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition won't go forward in the 2010 session, says the lawmaker who planned to sponsor the legislation.

"I'm going to wait until 2011 to build a larger, broader, more bipartisan coalition of business, religious, legislative and civic leaders," said Rep. Joe Miklosi.

Miklosi, D-Denver, had said in October he was working to line up support for the bill this session, which begins Jan. 13. A similar bill never made it to the House last year, instead dying on the Senate floor after five of 21 Democrats joined 14 Republicans in voting against it.

Some Democrats privately have said the issue could hurt the party in what could be a challenging election year.

Sen. Ted Harvey, a Highlands Ranch Republican who was vocal in his opposition to the bill last year, said Democrats are running scared.

"I think that they realized that it is an incredibly hot political potato during an election year," Harvey said, "and they don't want to put their colleagues who are in swing districts in a position of voting for something the public does not want."

The bill last year and the one Miklosi planned to introduce this year would have allowed students who had attended a Colorado high school for at least three years to get in-state tuition at a public college or university, regardless of their immigration status.

Even though Miklosi said the bill was not going forward, supporters with the Higher Education Access Alliance, a coalition of the Colorado Education Association and immigrant rights organizations, said the issue wasn't dead for 2010.

"Our coalition is still evaluating our options for increasing all of Colorado's students' access to an affordable higher education, and running legislation in 2010 is still on the table," Tony Salazar, the CEA's executive director, said in a statement.

Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, supported the bill last session but did not champion it as a priority. In fact, Ritter issued his first public statement in support of the measure only after immigrant-rights groups asked him to do so.

Asked recently if he was pushing for the legislation in 2010, Ritter said no. He said that a bill passed last session to expand a program that allows high school students to take courses for college credit would do more to help illegal immigrant students than in-state tuition.

Under the new law, high school students can get enough credit for an associate's degree at the school district's expense, if the school district has an agreement with a college. Because the students are still in high school, their immigration status is not an issue when getting college credit.

"That has a greater impact and a broader impact" than in-state tuition would, Ritter said.

But supporters of the in-state tuition bill said it's still necessary.

"Concurrent enrollment is not an option in every school district, therefore tuition equity is still needed," said Lynea Hansen, campaign director for the Higher Education Access Alliance.

Tim Hoover: thoover@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14075014?source=rss

I'm going to wait until 2011 to build a larger, broader, more bipartisan coalition of business, religious, legislative and civic leaders," said Rep. Joe Miklosi.

Yeah right they are waiting to 2011 to see if any of the traitors are left to push through this travesty that Colorado cannot afford!!!

KICK THEM ALL OUT!!!!