BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Carol Liu, Chair
                           2013-2014 Regular Session
                                        

          BILL NO:       SB 141
          AUTHOR:        Correa
          AMENDED:       April 25, 2013
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  May 1. 2013
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira

           SUBJECT  :  Children of deported parents.
          
           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires that the California Community Colleges  
          (CCC) and the California State University (CSU), and  
          requests that the University of California (UC), exempt a  
          United States citizen who resides in a foreign country, and  
          is in their first year as a matriculated student, from  
          nonresident tuition if the student demonstrates financial  
          need, has a parent or guardian who was deported or  
          voluntarily departed from the US, lived in California  
          immediately before moving abroad and attended a secondary  
          school in California for at least three years; and further,  
           makes these students eligible for the same state financial  
          aid programs which would be available to AB 540 students,  
          except that these students, unlike AB 540 students, would  
          be eligible for the Competitive Cal Grant Program awards.

           BACKGROUND  

          Current law, (established by AB 540, Chapter 814, Statutes  
          of 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.




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          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)

          Current law provides for a variety of state 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. AB 131  
          (Cedillo, Chapter 604, Statutes of 2012) expanded  
          eligibility for state administered financial aid benefits,  
          including institutional aid, Cal Grants, and Board of  
          Governors fee waivers at the community colleges, to all  
          students exempt from paying non-resident tuition under AB  
          540.  However, AB 131 specifically provided that AB 540  
          student could only receive a Cal Grant under the  
          competitive program once all other eligible California  
          students had received a Competitive Cal Grant. (EC §  
          69508.5)

          Current law authorizes a community college district to  
          admit nonresident students and requires that these students  
          be charged a nonresident tuition fee, with certain  
          specified exemptions.  Among others, a community college  
          district is authorized to exempt from all or parts of the  
          nonresident tuition fee any nonresident who is both a  
          citizen and resident of a foreign country, if the  
          nonresident has demonstrated a financial need for the  
          exemption, up to a maximum of 10 percent of the nonresident  
          foreign students attending the community college district,  
          and authorizes these exemptions to be made on an individual  
          basis.  (EC § 76140(a) (2))

          Current law establishes uniform residency requirements for  
          purposes of ascertaining the amount of fees to be paid by  
          students at the University of California (UC), the  
          California State University (CSU), and CCC and establishes  
          various exceptions to these residency requirements.  
          Generally, military exemptions are only for the amount of  
          tuition and fees.  Residency does not entitle these  
          students to participate in state financial aid programs. 




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           ANALYSIS
           
           This bill  expands existing exemptions from non-resident  
          tuition at the CCC, CSU and UC.  Specifically it:

          1)   Requires that the CCC and the CSU exempt from  
               nonresident tuition a  student who is a US citizen who  
               resides in a foreign country if the student meets all  
               the following requirements:

                    a)             Demonstrates a financial need for  
                    the exemption.

                    b)             Has a parent or guardian who has  
                    been deported or was permitted to depart  
                    voluntarily from the US in accordance with  
                    specified federal immigration laws, and requires  
                    the student to provide specified documents as  
                    evidence. 

               c)        Moved abroad as a result of the deportation.

                    d)             Lived in California immediately  
                    before moving abroad and requires the student to  
                    provide information and evidence of such.

                    e)             Attended a secondary school in  
                    California for at least three years.

                    f)             Is in his/her first academic year  
                    as a matriculated student at the UC, CSU, or CCC.

          2)   Requests the UC to prescribe rules and regulations for  
               implementing this exemption.

          3)   Requests the UC and requires the CSU and the Board of  
               Governors of the CCC to establish procedures and forms  
               to enable these students to apply for and participate  
               in all student aid programs administered by these  
               segments, to the full extent permitted by federal law.  
                

          4)   Prohibits the number of financial aid awards received  
               by California resident students from financial aid  
               programs administered by the segments from being  




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               diminished as a result of making these students  
               eligible for financial aid. 

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

          6)   Requires the California Student Aid Commission to  
               establish procedures and forms that enable these  
               students to apply for and participate in all state  
               administered student financial aid programs to the  
               full extent permitted by federal law.

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Need for the bill  .  According to the author it is  
               estimated that over 5 million children are currently  
               living in the U.S. with at least one undocumented  
               parent, and at least 75% or these children are U.S.  
               citizens.  When a parent is deported, the citizen  
               children are often forced to leave the country with  
               their families.  As a result of moving abroad, these  
               children lose their state residency, and with it,  
               access to institutions of higher education and  
               financial aid. 

           2)   Apples to oranges  ? This bill makes the students that  
               meet its requirements eligible for state financial  
               aid, patterning this eligibility and related processes  
               on statute that established eligibility for financial  
               aid for AB 540 students.  The logic for extending  
               financial aid to AB 540 students was, in part, an  
               acknowledgement that these students are ineligible for  
               federal financial aid, and, even with the extension of  
               the benefit of resident tuition, would still need  
               assistance to meet their educational costs.  
               Additionally, the immigration status of AB 540  
               students makes it impossible for them to establish  
               California residency in order to be eligible for state  
               administered benefits.  A separate structure and  
               process had to be created in order to meet these  
               students' needs.







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               The students intended to benefit from this bill's  
               provisions are 
                NOT  AB 540 students and, as US citizens, have options  
               available to them that were not possible for AB 540  
               students.  Specifically, they:

               a)        Are eligible to apply for and receive  
                    federal financial aid to assist with their  
                    education costs.

               b)        Are eligible for state administered  
                    financial aid programs after taking steps to  
                    establish residency in California (normally one  
                    year). No separate process to enable their  
                    eligibility for state aid is necessary. 

               Given that these students, like other US citizens, are  
               eligible for federal financial aid to meet their  
               educational costs, should state financial aid benefits  
               be extended before these individuals have taken steps  
               to establish California residency?

               Staff recommends the bill be amended to delete the  
               current provisions extending eligibility for state  
               financial aid to these students.

          3)   Cost impacts  ? Unknown. According to information  
               provided by the author's office, between July 1, 2010  
               and September 31, 2012, over 200,000 parents who had  
               at least one U.S. born child were deported and the  
               Immigration Customs Enforcement obtained over 90,000  
               final orders of deportation for undocumented parents  
               with at least one child who was an American citizen,  
               and 14853 of these deportation orders were in  
               California. 

           SUPPORT  

          California Catholic Conference, Inc. 
          California Federation of Teachers

           OPPOSITION

           None received.






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