Tuition Rate for Illegals Debated

By Karina Gonzalez, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Jan. 29–DALTON, Ga. — The Georgia Board of Regents is advising presidents of state higher education institutions to deny in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants, even while the definition of “state benefits” is questioned, the board’s spokesman said.

“It’s open to some interpretations. Some of the discussion that has been around for some time is, ‘What constitutes a benefit?’” said John Millsaps, spokesman for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

“The interpretation that we have received from our legal office seems to be in terms of complying with SB529 — the presidents cannot grant a tuition waiver (to illegal immigrants ) for in-state tuition,” Mr. Millsaps said.

He said the board’s legal staff has reviewed a state law that goes into effect in July and a 1996 federal law, and has advised state college and university presidents to deny instate tuition waivers to students who are undocumented.

Students applying to a higher education institution in Georgia for the fall will have to answer questions regarding U.S. residency and provide proof of legal status, he said.

In-state tuition is a taxpayerfunded benefit because the state subsidizes about 75 percent of the cost of instruction for students attending at in-state rates, Mr. Millsaps said.

But Michael A. Olivas, the director for the Institute of Higher Education Law and Governance at the University of Houston Law Center, said the board’s interpretation of the term “benefit” is inaccurate.

Courts in Kansas and California already have determined that in-state tuition is not a benefit because it’s not money the student receives, he said.

“The word ‘benefit’ is defined in a way that makes it clear that Congress intended it as a monetary benefit, whereas the determination of residency is a status benefit, distinct from a monetary benefit,” Dr. Olivas said, referring to a federal statute defining state and local benefits.

The new Georgia law instructs state agencies to abide by the 1996 federal law aimed at addressing illegal immigration that includes a provision on college tuition for students who are illegal immigrants. Under the federal law, states are prohibited from granting in-state tuition rates to students who are not in the country lawfully unless the state awards the same benefit to U.S. citizens.

Ten states have passed legislation allowing illegal immigrant students who reside in the state to attend a higher education institution at in-state rates, according to the National Council of La Raza, a national Hispanic advocacy group.

The Migration Policy Institutes estimates there are 360,000 illegal immigrant high school graduates nationwide between the ages of 18 and 24. Addition- ally, 50,000 of those graduates are enrolled in college, according to group estimates.

At Dalton State College, 40 illegal immigrants this fall will lose the waiver that had allowed them to attend the school at the in-state tuition rate, officials said.

“We are in the process of informing those students, who are currently here on in-state tuition and are undocumented, that they will no longer (have in-state tuition),” said Jim Burran, president of Dalton State College.

Dr. Burran said the college each year grants about 60 tuition waivers to outstanding out-ofstate or international students.

In the past, some of the waiver recipients were Georgia high school graduates whose illegal immigrant status prevented them from getting federal or state financial aid, he said.

The in-state tuition rate for students enrolled in Dalton State’s bachelor’s degree programs is $112.75 per credit hour for tuition and student fees or $1,349 a semester for full-time students, according to the school.

Students paying the out-ofstate rate are charged $432.75 per credit hour or $5,190 a semester for a full-time class schedule of 12 credit hours or more, school officials said.

Mr. Millsaps said the Board of Regents is planning public forums this fall to discuss the issue of what constitutes a benefit in terms of post-secondary education.

“The chancellor is also planning a whole series of public forums this spring just to seek out some public comment on that narrow question… regarding instate tuition waivers for undocumented students,” he said.

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