[ilbegone]

Educators publicize law helping undocumented students go to college

December 13, 2009

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise

Going to college seemed out of reach for Andrea Galicia while she was a student at Colton High School.

That was until she learned about AB 540, a state law that allows undocumented students to pay resident fees at public colleges and universities instead of the more expensive out-of-state fees.

Galicia, 19, is finishing her second year at San Bernardino Valley College and plans to start next semester at Cal State San Bernardino, where she will major in English.

"If it weren't for this law, it would be a lot of money," she said. "I probably wouldn't be able to go to college."

Gil Navarro, a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Education, said he believes more needs to be done to publicize the 8-year-old law. He has produced a brochure in English and Spanish that is being distributed by county education officials and he has gone before district school boards in Colton and Rialto, urging them to do more.

Navarro said he took up the issue because he heard from students and parents who were unaware of the tuition exemption and went into debt or decided not to go to college because of the cost. Some students end up dropping out of high school because they don't think they'll be able to go to college, he said.

"There's a lot of folks out there that don't know of this golden opportunity for their children," he said.

Non-residents pay hundreds or thousands of dollars more a year than students who are residents of California. Under AB 540, students who aren't legal residents of the United States but graduated from a California high school that they attended for at least three years can still get in-state tuition. To qualify they must file an affidavit with their college or university promising to apply for legal immigration status.

Rialto resident Alondra Velasco, 21, a student at San Bernardino Valley College, said she would have had to pay $97 per unit instead of $26 per unit if not for AB 540. Velasco takes about 18 units of coursework per semester, so it's a difference of more than $2,500 a year.

She said she couldn't afford college if she had to pay the higher fees.

"It's a big difference," she said.

Groups that oppose illegal immigrants are critical of the law and the use of local resources to help undocumented students.

Raymond Herrera, a Victorville resident and founder and president of We the People, called the law "an abomination."

"This is outright pandering to illegal immigrants," he said.

Navarro said students shouldn't be penalized for their parents' decisions. He said it makes more sense to encourage students to pursue higher education and become productive members of their community.

The Rialto Unified School District has begun distributing the brochures to students and parents, said Kent Taylor, area director for the district.

The Colton Joint Unified School District board asked its staff to increase informational efforts after Navarro and some students spoke about the issue at a September meeting.

Jerry Almendarez, assistant superintendent for human resources, said the district is putting together a program where college student interns will offer advice to high school students. The program will include information on AB 540, he said. The district also sends information in the mail to parents.

In the San Bernardino City Unified School District, program information is included in an annual publication mailed to parents in Spanish and English, said district spokeswoman Linda Bardere.

She and the other school officials say they haven't run into any controversy over their efforts.

Taylor said the Rialto district sees it as no different than providing information on scholarships to students.

"This is just another resource that helps students to attend college and ultimately get their degree," he said.