Indiana Relents on College Aid Program
By Diana Penner, The Indianapolis Star
Jan. 8–A state scholarship program that has helped thousands would be open to children whose parents are not U.S. citizens or legal residents, under a proposed legal settlement.
The ACLU of Indiana, which filed a class-action lawsuit last March, is trying to get the word out to high schools and colleges where young people might have decided to skip the 21st Century Scholars program because they were told their parents’ immigration status disqualified them.
The scholarship program, established in 1990 by then-Gov. Evan Bayh, helps students who are U.S. citizens and have graduated from an Indiana high school pay for four years of tuition in a public college or university. It’s intended to help low- to moderate-income families, reduce the number of high-school dropouts and increase the number of students going to college. The amount of the scholarship varies.
About 25,000 students have gone to college through the program, and Indiana spends $19 million a year on the effort.
Although the settlement does not include reimbursement to students who went ahead with college plans without the grants, it does retroactively allow students as old as 20 when the lawsuit was filed March 2 to apply now, said Ken Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
Affected students must be notified before the court can approve the settlement.
Falk couldn’t say how much the settlement would cost or how many students now might be eligible. The lawsuit was filed last year as a class action suit in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on behalf of an Elkhart girl who was then a senior in high school.
Identified only as “E.C.,” the girl is a U.S. citizen but her parents are not legal residents, so she was denied a 21st Century Scholar scholarship because of her parents’ status.
Sunday, Falk said he could say only that the girl was found to be eligible for a 21st Century Scholar grant, but not whether or where she is attending college.
Falk has estimated that there are 10,000 American-born, lower-income students in Indiana with parents who are not citizens or legal residents. The ACLU estimates that 75,000 to 100,000 people in Indiana are illegal residents; children they have in the U.S. are American citizens and legal residents.
The lawsuit claimed that denying students eligibility based on a parent’s immigration status violated federal immigration law and the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause.
Dennis Obergfell, deputy director of the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana, which administers the 21st Century Scholars program, was not available for comment Sunday.
According to The Elkhart Truth newspaper, state officials denied they turned down grant applicants because of their parents’ immigration status but acknowledged returning 73 applications because students did not list Social Security numbers for their parents.
In addition to those, Falk said, he found many instances in which students were told not to apply for the program because their parents were in the United States illegally. Falk said guidance counselors and others were clear that was part of the criteria.
The program is aimed at seventh- and eighth-grade students who qualify for free or discounted lunches. They pledge to be good citizens and get passing grades, and in return can receive college scholarships that can bridge financial gaps or even amount to full grants for Indiana schools.
Students who apply now will have to show they would have been eligible for the program by virtue of their grades and other criteria, Falk said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM HAS AIDED THOUSANDS
The 21st Century Scholars program was proposed in 1990 by then-Gov. Evan Bayh.
Seventh- and eighth-graders who qualify for free or discounted lunches, pledge good citizenship and earn passing grades can receive four years of college tuition at nearly any state public college or university.
Students, about 25,000 of whom have attended college on the program, must sign up within two years of graduation, and they have 10 years to earn a degree.
ABOUT THE LAWSUIT
Students who were denied or opted not to apply because of their parents’ immigration status can now try again under a settlement to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Indiana. They must have been 20 years old by March 2.
Parents or students with questions should contact their high school guidance counselors or college financial aid advisers. They can also contact Ken Falk at the ACLU at kfalk@aclu-in.org or at (317) 635-4059, ext. 229.
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