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. SB 141 Page 2 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. SB 141 Page 3 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 SB 141 Page 4 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. SB 141 Page 5 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. SB 141 Page 6