Brown ratifies aid bill

EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on Oct. 19, 2011. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.

Although they grew up here but were not born in the state, undocumented California college students had been excluded from public financial aid.

But with Gov. Jerry Brown's Oct. 8 approval of Assembly Bill 131, thousands of undocumented Californians will be eligible for the first time to receive Board of Governors fee waivers and Cal Grants, neither of which need to be repaid to the state.

"That's good. It's better than nothing," psychology major Oscar Gonzalez said, with his cousins from El Salvador in mind.

"My cousins have been here, they're working three jobs per unit," culinary arts major Arnoldo Lopez said. "It's been really hard for them. They've been working their asses off at their jobs. Every little bit you can get helps a lot."

The California Dream Act, a two-bill composition, allows for undocumented students who attended a California high school for three years to receive public financial aid.

The first half of the bill, AB130, allowed for undocumented students to receive privately-raised scholarships through their colleges. Gov. Brown signed this half of Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo's (D-Los Angeles) Dream Act on July 25 and it will take effect Jan. 1, 2013.

The most recent bill approved by the governor, AB131, makes all public financial aid available to undocumented students considered California students under AB540.

AB540, signed by Gov. Gray Davis in October 2001, waived out-of-state fees for students who attended a California high school for three years and graduated.

Undocumented students must be AB540 eligible to receive the benefits of the Dream Act.

Director of Admissions and Records Michael Aldaco said the difference in cost because of AB540 is nearly $200 per unit.

International students and undocumented students, both non-residents, pay $231 per unit while California residents pay $36 per unit.

Aldaco said the passing of the California Dream Act allows access to students who need financial aid to get the biggest costs out of the way through BOG fee waivers.

"In terms of fee waivers, right now, if you are a low-income student and qualify for the BOG fee waiver, they get $36 per unit paid for," he said. "It opens up the same level of support (for residents and undocumented students)."

All low-income students eligible for the fee waiver are allowed the chance to receive state support, regardless of residency. But Cal Grants will be handled differently.

Instead of all applicants receiving equal consideration for Cal Grants, undocumented students will have to wait for documented residents to first receive their aid.

"(Undocumented students) get to sit at the table after everyone else is done dining," Aldaco said.

The Department of Finance reported 2,500 of 42,000 undocumented students in California qualify for financial aid with the signing of AB131. This one percent of the student population of higher educational institutions up and down the state would require an estimated $14.5 million of the total $1.4 billion total in Cal Grants allotted each year.

None of the three bills regarding fees or financial aid, however, grant residency to undocumented students, Aldaco said, but it makes it more affordable for them to attend colleges in the state.

This sets the California Dream Act apart from a federal proposal of the same name.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which was introduced in 2001 and again this May, would provide a pathway to national citizenship through education or military service.