CA Supreme Court Preserves In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

November 19, 2010 - Posted by The Leadership Conference

The California Supreme Court this week ruled that undocumented immigrants may continue to be eligible for in-state-tuition rates at California state colleges and universities.

Overturning a lower court decision, Justice Ming W. Chin, described by the Los Angeles Times as one of the panel's more conservative members, ruled that California's tuition plan did not conflict with the federal prohibition on giving undocumented immigrants educational benefits based on residency status. The California Supreme Court's ruling allows undocumented immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition if they have attended California high schools for a minimum of three years and graduated.

Opposing groups argued that the law would be unfair to citizens who pay higher out-of-state tuition. But as Justice Chin noted, students who are not California residents but who meet the criteria of attending three years or more years of high school in California and graduating from a California high school are also eligible for an exemption that allows them to pay in-state tuition rates .

The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, Kris W. Kobach, was the principal designer of SB 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law, which requires law enforcement officers to question, detain, and arrest anyone whom they have a "reasonable suspicion" is in the United States without documentation.

The court's ruling is an important step toward giving undocumented immigrant youths the chance to pursue a quality education. This ruling is especially important in light of the Senate's plans to reconsider the DREAM Act before the end of the year. The DREAM Act would allow students who graduated from high school in the United States to contribute to society through higher education or military service.

Passing the DREAM Act is among six priorities of The Leadership Conference and its coalition partners for the lame duck Congress.