Thread: In-state tuition bill re-filed as federal DACA decision is debated

In-state tuition bill re-filed as federal DACA decision is debated


February 2, 2018

Jason Gonzales


Gubernatorial candidates speak on DACA and higher education at the gubernatorial forum Michael Schwab



The issue of in-state tuition for young immigrants who entered the United States illegally at a young age is again before the Tennessee General Assembly.



The bill, filed Thursday, presents a departure from last year's proposal that would have let individual college institutions decide on in-state tuition for those young immigrants.



Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, are again sponsoring the bill, which was within one vote of passage several years ago.
Gov. Bill Haslam has said he supports such a bill.



More: Gubernatorial candidates speak on DACA and higher education
More: Tennessee lawmakers say Congress' DACA actions will guide debate on in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants
More: Faith leaders call upon Congress to protect DACA youth


House Bill 2429 is geared to students known as Dreamers who have been granted temporary legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.



Those students would be exempt from paying higher out-of-state tuition rates if they agree to "file an application to legalize such student's immigration status as soon as the student is eligible."



To be eligible, students must attend school in Tennessee for three years immediately prior to graduation from high school, obtain a diploma or certificate and enroll at a state institution of higher education.



Another in-state bill was also filed Thursday that would bar students with temporary legal status from in-state tuition. The legislation was filed by Rep. Jerome Moon, R-Maryville, and Sen. Joey Hensely, R-Hohenwald. It's unclear what House Bill 2582 would change.


DACA, as it is known, is a program created by then-President Barack Obama in 2012 that provides protections for young immigrants. It will end in 2018 under President Donald Trump. Trump has asked Congress to provide a long-term fix.


Details on how to replace DACA are being debated by Congress, and state legislators, including White, have said they are watching the process closely.


Last year, a bill that Gardenhire and White sponsored would have given the authority to state colleges to grant in-state tuition to those living in the country illegally. Tennessee's attorney general said in an opinion that the legislature can't grant individual colleges that authority.
The ability to grant in-state tuition to those students "requires an affirmative choice by the state legislature to provide benefits to individuals who cannot prove their lawful presence in the United States,” the opinion says. "A choice by one or more state institutions of higher education to provide such benefits would not satisfy the requirements."




https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...ted/300810002/