Texas College Rule Reminds Undocumented Students to Seek Status
Just in case undocumented students receiving in-state tuition at Texas public colleges and universities forget that they pledged to apply for permanent residency status as soon as possible, a new rule approved today by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board requires their institutions to send them annual reminders.
The Texas policy that has allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition was a bur under Gov. Rick Perry’s saddle on the campaign trail during his failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
To qualify for in-state tuition rates — instead of international rates that would apply to foreign nationals —undocumented students must have graduated from a Texas high school, have lived in the state for three years before applying and sign an affidavit promising to apply for permanent residency status as soon as possible. The process was put in place in 2001 and broadened in 2005, and Perry signed the legislation both times.
Since then, among higher education policy observers in Texas, there has been debate and confusion about who maintains the affadavits and how the state ensures that students are following through. Nationally, the basic premise of the policy — in-state for undocumented immigrants — was lambasted by GOP candidates and pundits.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/higher-education/texas-takes-proactive-approach-undocumented-studen/
