BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 130
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Date of Hearing: March 15, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 130 (Cedillo) - As Amended: March 8, 2011
SUBJECT : Student financial aid: eligibility: California Dream
Act of 2011
SUMMARY : Enacts the California Dream Act of 2011, which
expands the exemption from nonresident tuition created by
specified provisions of law �AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814,
Statutes of 2001] to graduates of adult education and technical
schools, provided the individual spent at least one year in a
California high school, and allows AB 540 students to receive
scholarships that are derived from nonstate funds, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Enacts the California Dream Act of 2011 and states legislative
intent that all students who are exempt from nonresident
tuition pursuant to the provisions of AB 540 who are deemed to
be in financial need shall be eligible for all financial aid
and that increased access to financial aid for all students in
California's universities and colleges increases the state's
collective productivity and economic growth.
2)Expands the AB 540 exemption to include attendance and
graduation from California technical and adult schools,
provided the student attended a California high school for at
least one year, beginning July 1, 2012.
3)Makes AB 540 students eligible to receive a scholarship that
is derived from nonstate funds received for the purpose of
scholarships, beginning January 1, 2012.
4)Finds and declares that this bill is a state law within the
meaning of subsection (d) of Section 1621 of Title 8 of the
United States Code.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Exempts specified California nonresidents from paying
nonresident tuition at UC, CSU, and CCC, also known as the AB
540 nonresident tuition waiver, if they meet all of the
following:
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a) Attended a California high school for three or more
years;
b) Graduated from a California high school or attained an
equivalent degree;
c) Registered or attended an accredited California higher
education institution beginning after fall of the 2001-02
academic year; and,
d) If an alien without lawful immigration status, have
filed an affidavit stating that the student has filed an
application to legalize his or her immigration status or
will file such an application as soon as he or she is
eligible to so do.
2)Designates secondary schools as high schools, technical
schools, and adult schools.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : Background : Students who are eligible for resident
tuition under the provisions of AB 540 are typically persons
without lawful immigration status or United States citizens or
Permanent Residents who are residents of another state and would
be ineligible for state-administered or campus-based financial
aid programs without the provisions of AB 540. According to the
segments, in 2009-10, AB 540 students were a small fraction of
enrollment at all three systems, as follows: 1,941 at UC (of
these 32% were undocumented immigrants); 3,633 at CSU; and
38,203 at CCC. CSU and 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
UC. In 2010-11, nonresident undergraduate student tuition
amounted to approximately $22,879 at UC, $10,000 at CSU, and
$4,800 at CCC per year.
Adding adult schools : Current law defines a secondary school as
a high school, adult school or technical school. Since AB 540
considers only high school attendance in order to qualify for
the nonresident tuition waiver, high school students who combine
high school attendance with attendance at an adult or technical
school may jeopardize their eligibility for the nonresident
tuition exemption if their attendance at the high school is for
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less than three years. This bill addresses this situation by
allowing two of the three years of required attendance to be at
an adult or technical school, provided the student attends a
California high school for one year.
Scholarships funded by private sources : This bill also includes
a provision that would make AB 540 students eligible for
scholarships derived from nonstate funds that the campuses
receive for scholarships. According to UC, it cannot award its
own funds to undocumented students, whether they are derived
from private gifts to the university, tuition revenue, or any
other source. Thus, when donors want to help these students,
campuses must refer the donor to external organizations that
help undocumented students.
Technical amendment : The amendments dated March 8, 2011,
removed Section 66021.6 from the bill; however, this section is
added to Section 68130.7. Staff recommends this reference be
deleted from Section 68130.7.
Related legislation : Two related measures are scheduled to be
heard by this Committee on March 15, 2011: AB 131 (Cedillo) of
2011 would make AB 540 students eligible for specified
state-administered financial aid programs, and AB 63 (Donnelly)
would prohibit undocumented students from qualifying for
resident tuition under the provisions of AB 540.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Catholic Conference
California Communities United Institute
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Teachers Association
Community College League of California
Equality California
Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Peralta Community College District
Service Employees International Union, California
University of California
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Opposition
Concerned Women for American of California
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960