BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1197
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1197 (Firebaugh)
As Amended May 28, 1999
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 7-4 APPROPRIATIONS 14-7
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|Ayes:|Lempert, Cardoza, |Ayes:|Migden, Cedillo, Davis, |
| |Jackson, Lowenthal, | |Hertzberg, Kuehl, Papan, |
| |Reyes, Romero, Scott | |Romero, Shelley, |
| | | |Steinberg, Thomson, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright, |
| | | |Aroner |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Baldwin, Ackerman, |Nays:|Brewer, Ashburn, Battin, |
| |Havice, Thompson | |Pescetti, Maldonado, |
| | | |Runner, Zettel |
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SUMMARY : Requires, for purposes of assessing mandatory
systemwide fees and nonresident tuition to students at the
California State University (CSU) and California Community
Colleges (CCC), that any student who has: 1) attended a
California high school for at least three years; 2) graduated
from high school; 3) is admitted to a CSU or CCC campus; and, 4)
declares his/her intent to seek legalization of his/her
immigration status will only pay mandatory systemwide fees, not
nonresident tuition.
Furthermore, this measure requests that the University of
California (UC) take action to exempt those students meeting the
above-noted requirements from paying nonresident tuition.
EXISTING LAW establishes residency requirements for students
attending a CSU or CCC campus and requires the CSU and CCCs to
charge nonresident tuition to any student who is not a
California resident; furthermore, current law precludes
undocumented students from establishing residency in California.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The educational rights of undocumented students is a
AB 1197
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longstanding issue that has been debated within legislative and
judicial arenas for years. Current law, as noted above, was
contested in a 1985 court case (" Leticia A" v. Board of Regents
of the University of California ) when a group of undocumented
students challenged UC and CSU for not recognizing them as
California residents and charging them out-of-state
(nonresident) tuition. At that time, the court ruled that
charging nonresident tuition to undocumented students was
unconstitutional because both UC and CSU used a different
definition of "residency" for undocumented aliens as is used for
US citizens.
The 1985 decision was later overridden by a 1990 Court of
Appeal, Second District decision ( Regents of the University of
California v. Los Angeles County Superior Court ), also known as
the Bradford decision. In Bradford , the court held that current
law (as noted in the existing law portion of this analysis) was
constitutional and that the related Education Code sections were
to be upheld. As a result of Bradford , current law regarding
the assessment of nonresident tuition charges on undocumented
students is being enforced at California public colleges.
Both the Leticia A case and the Bradford case dealt solely with
the issue of defining "California Residency" for purposes of
assessing nonresident tuition, and prior legislation on this
topic (AB 592, Polanco/1991) would have statutorily altered the
definition of "California Residency" as it applies to college
tuition.
This measure does not change the definition of "California
Resident" nor does it alter current law regarding the assessment
of nonresident tuition to students that are not "California
Residents." Instead, this measure simply requires that the CSU
and CCC charge only mandatory systemwide fees and not
nonresident tuition to those students who have: 1) attended a
California high school for at least three years; 2) graduated
from high school; 3) are admitted to a CSU or CCC campus; and,
4) declare their intent to seek legalization of his/her
immigration status.
According to the author, many of the students that would benefit
under this measure are children of parents who have been granted
amnesty by the federal government and are waiting for their own
applications for citizenship to be accepted by the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS). The majority of these
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students consider California their home and are expected to
become citizens.
In the current year, CSU resident undergraduate students pay
$1,506 in mandatory systemwide fees, while nonresident students
pay $9,253. At the UC, resident undergraduate students pay
$3,609 while nonresident students pay $14,547. In the 1999-2000
fiscal year, the amount of nonresident tuition will increase to
$9,991 for CSU students and $14,959 for UC students.
For many of these students, the biggest barrier to attending and
enrolling in college is the cost. Under federal and state law,
undocumented students, regardless of their academic achievement
or financial need, are not eligible for federal or state
financial aid nor are they eligible to receive campus-based aid
or subsidized student loans.
This measure will help talented California high school students,
who cannot afford to pay nonresident tuition, to afford college.
While the costs of attending CSU and CCC will still be
difficult for many families to meet, this measure takes a
positive step towards ensuring that postsecondary education
truly is accessible and affordable for all our state's students.
Analysis Prepared by : Amy Supinger / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0001500