BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                              Gloria Romero, Chair
                           2009-2010 Regular Session
                                        

          BILL NO:       SB 1460
          AUTHOR:        Cedillo
          INTRODUCED:    February 19, 2010
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  April 14, 2010
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira

           SUBJECT  :  California Dream Act
          
           KEY POLICY ISSUES  

          Should AB 540 exemptions from non-resident tuition be  
          extended to graduates of adult education and technical  
          schools?  

          Should AB 540 students be eligible to apply for and receive  
          state administered and institutional financial aid  
          benefits?  Should they be eligible to receive Board of  
          Governors fee waivers at the community colleges?

           
          SUMMARY  

          This bill establishes the California Dream Act of 2010  
          which expands the existing exemption from non-resident  
          tuition established by AB 540 (Firebaugh, Chapter 814,  
          Statutes of 2001) to include students who graduate from  
          technical schools and adult schools and expands eligibility  
          for financial aid benefits to all students exempt from  
          paying non-resident tuition under AB 540 as it:

          1)   Requests the University of California (UC) and  
          requires the California
                State University (CSU) and the Board of Governors of  
               the California Community Colleges (BOG CCCs) to  
               establish procedures and forms to enable AB 540  
               students to be eligible to apply for and participate  
               in all student financial aid administered by these  
               segments.

          2)   Expands eligibility for state administered student  
          financial aid programs to 




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               include AB 540 students.  

          3)   Requires the California Community Colleges to waive  
          the student fees of 
               any of AB 540 students who would otherwise qualify for  
               such a waiver, as specified.

           BACKGROUND  

          Current law provides for a variety of student financial aid  
          programs including the Cal Grant programs, the Community  
          College Board of Governors (BOG) fee waiver, a variety of  
          systemwide and/or campus-specific grant and/or loan  
          programs and other state administered financial aid  
          programs.  Participation in these programs is, among other  
          criteria, typically limited to California residents.

          Current law, (established by AB 540, Firebaugh, 2001)  
          exempts specified California nonresidents from paying  
          nonresident tuition at UC, CSU and the CCCs if they meet  
          all of the following:

          1)   Attended a California high school for three or more  
                                   years.

          2)   Graduated from a California high school or attained an  
                                   equivalent degree.

3)   Registered or attended an accredited California higher education  
               institution not before fall of the 2001-02 academic  
               year.

4)   Filed an affidavit, if an alien without lawful immigration status, stating  
               that the student has filed an application to legalize  
               their immigration status or will file such an  
               application as soon as they are eligible to so do.  
               (Education Code 68130)

          In general, these students are not currently eligible for  
          federal, state and/or campus-based financial aid. 

          Current law also designates secondary schools as high  
          schools, technical schools, and adult schools. (EC 52)

           ANALYSIS
           




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           This bill  establishes the California Dream Act of 2010.   
          More specifically it:

          1)   Requests the University of California (UC) and  
               requires the California State University (CSU) and the  
               Board of Governors of the California Community  
               Colleges (BOG CCCs) to establish procedures and forms  
               to enable these students apply for and participate in  
               all student aid programs administered by these  
               segments, to the full extent permitted by federal law.  
                

          2)   Expands the existing exemption from non-resident  
               tuition to include students who attend and graduate  
               from technical schools and adult schools.

          3)   Makes AB 540 students eligible to apply for and  
               participate in any state administered student  
               financial aid program to the full extent permitted by  
               federal law.

          4)   Requires the California Community Colleges to waive  
               the student fees of any person exempt from paying  
               nonresident tuition and who would otherwise qualify  
               for a waiver and declares this provision to be  
               consistent with specified federal immigration law.

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Need for the bill  .  California high school graduates  
               who have been accepted to our premier public colleges  
               and universities may not be recognized as state  
               residents and may be ineligible for state financial  
               aid.  These students confront a difficult challenge in  
               financing their college education because they are  
               ineligible for any federal grants or loans and are  
               unable to legally work. Additionally, according to the  
               author, an undocumented student could compromise their  
               future application for legalization if he/she submits  
               a Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA).  The  
               California Dream Act would allow the state to fund its  
               neediest students while awaiting legalization by  
               requiring the creation of procedures to apply for  
               financial assistance without the use of the FAFSA.

           2)   Related court case  .  In 2005, Martinez v. Regents of  




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               the University of California et al. was filed against  
               the UC, CSU, and the Board of Governors of the  
               California Community Colleges, challenging the  
               legality of AB 540.  In October 2006 a California  
               Superior Court ruled in favor of AB 540 stating its  
               provisions were in accordance with federal law. In  
               September 2008 a California Court of Appeal overturned  
               the Superior Court's ruling in Martinez v.Regents and  
               held that California state law authorizing in-state  
               tuition to "illegal aliens" is preempted by federal  
               immigration law and void.  The decision was appealed  
               and in December 2008 the Supreme Court of California  
               agreed to review the case. It is unclear when the  
               Supreme Court will review the case. The AB 540  
               exemption remains in effect at the UC, CSU, and the  
               Community Colleges while the appeal is pending review.  
                
           
          3)   How many students  ?  The most recent data from the UC,  
               CSU and CCC indicate that overall, AB 540 students  
               make up less than one percent of enrollment at all  
               three systems.  More specifically:

                        At the UC, AB 540 students were less than  
                    three-tenths of a percent of 220,000 students in  
                    2007-08.  More than 68 percent of the 1,941  
                    students were U.S. citizens or "documented"  
                    immigrants.

                        At the CSU, 3,633 AB 540 students were less  
                    than one percent of the 440,000 students enrolled  
                    in the current school year.

                        In the California Community Colleges, 34,057  
                    students of the 2.89 million students enrolled in  
                    the 2008-09 school year were granted AB 540  
                    waivers, again, less than one percent.

               The CSU and the CCC do not identify the immigration  
               status of AB 540 students, but believe that  
               undocumented students make up a larger proportion of  
               these students than they do at the UC.


           1)   What financial aid programs would these students be  
               eligible for  ?   The majority of student financial aid  




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               is provided through either federal or state  
               administered programs (e.g. Pell grants which is a  
               federal program or Cal grants which is a state  
               program).  However, in addition to this aid,  
               individual campuses also directly administer some  
               financial aid programs including specialized grants,  
               loans and work study as well as aid derived from  
               student fees (typically 20%- 30% of student fee  
               revenue is set aside for institutional financial aid  
               at UC and CSU). This bill would make AB 540 students  
               eligible for Cal Grants, institutional aid at the UC  
               and CSU, Board of Governors fee waivers at the  
               community colleges, and any other state administered  
               programs

           2)   Adding adult schools  .  High school students who  
               combine attendance at a high school with attendance at  
               an adult school may jeopardize their eligibility for  
               the nonresident tuition exemption if their attendance  
               at the high school is for less than three years.  This  
               bill addresses this situation by allowing the three  
               years of attendance to be at either a high school,  
               adult school, or any combination thereof.  As drafted  
               this would also enable adult nonresidents to become  
               eligible by taking a single class for three years at  
               an adult school.  

               Staff recommends the bill be amended to insert on Page  
               4, line 11, "at least one year of which shall have  
               been at a high school." in order to narrow the  
               application of the bill's provisions to student  
               nonresidents who have attended some high school in  
               California. 
                
           3)   Mandated costs.  Legislative counsel has identified  
               mandated costs, likely as the result of the  
               requirement imposed upon the California Community  
               Colleges that fee waivers be granted to qualifying AB  
               540 students.

           4)   Technical amendment  .  Consistent with prior versions  
               of this bill, staff recommends that the bill be  
               amended on page 3, line 28 to add, "The Legislature  
               finds and declares that this section is a state law  
               within the meaning of Section 1621(d) of Title 8 of  
               the United State Code."




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           5)   Prior legislation  .  Since 2003, the Legislature has  
               considered several bills which were substantively  
               similar to this measure.  This committee heard SB 160  
               (Cedillo, 2005), SB 1 (Cedillo, 2007), both of which  
               were almost identical this measure and were ultimately  
               vetoed by the Governor.  The most recent similar bill  
               to go before the Governor was SB 1301 (Cedillo, 2008),  
               heard and passed (6-2) by the Senate Education  
               Committee on April 2, 2008.  The Governor's veto  
               message read:

               I share the author's goal of making affordable  
               education available to all California students, but  
               given the precarious fiscal condition the state faces  
               at this time, it would not be prudent to place  
               additional demands on our limited financial aid  
               resources as specified in this bill.  For this reason,  
               I am unable to sign this bill."
               This committee also heard SB 160 (Cedillo, 2009), AB  
               2083 (Nunez, 2008), SB 160 (Cedillo, 2007), all of  
               which contained similar provisions to this bill and  
               all of which were ultimately held under submission in  
               the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

           6)   Policy arguments  .

               Proponents argue that this bill would promote economic  
               development in our state by encouraging these students  
               to pursue a higher education and become part of the  
               educated workforce, thus improving the life of all  
               Californians.  Additionally, many of these students  
               are outstanding, motivated individuals, who face  
               insurmountable economic and educational challenges as  
               they strive to reach their educational goals and their  
               accomplishments should not be disregarded or their  
               future jeopardized because of their legal status.  

               Opponents argue that the state has limited funds  
               available to provide financial aid, that this bill  
               would encourage illegal immigration, and that  
               increasing financial aid benefits will place greater  
               burdens on California taxpayers when we are facing a  
               $20 billion structural budget deficit.

           SUPPORT  




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          American Civil Liberties Union
          Board of Directors of the California Community College  
          League
          California Catholic Conference, Inc.
          California Communities United Institute
          California Federation of Teachers
          California State University
          Chief Executive Officers of the California Community  
          College League
          Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
          Los Angeles Community College District
          Los Angeles Unified School District
          Rio Hondo Community College District
          San Jose-Evergreen Community College District

           OPPOSITION

           California Concerned Women for America 
          Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association