Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Lesniak, Stack, Buono, Gill and Sweeney
SYNOPSIS
Allows certain students including undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria to qualify for in-State tuition at public institutions of higher education and State financial aid.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning tuition rates and financial aid for certain students and supplementing chapter 62 and chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, a student, other than a nonimmigrant alien within the meaning of section 101 (a)(15) of the "Immigration and Nationality Act," (8 U.S.C. s.1101(a)(15)), shall be exempt from paying nonresident tuition at a public institution of higher education if the student:
(1) attended high school in this State for three or more years;
(2) graduated from a high school in this State or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in this State;
(3) registers as an entering student or is currently enrolled in a public institution of higher education not earlier than the fall semester of the 2013-2014 academic year;
(4) in the case of a person without lawful immigration status, files an affidavit with the institution of higher education stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his immigration status or will file an application as soon as he is eligible to do so; and
(5) in the case of a person without lawful immigration status, meets the eligibility criteria, and has submitted a request to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, for consideration of the United States Department of Homeland Security’s deferred action for childhood arrivals process.
b. Student information obtained in the implementation of this section shall be confidential.
c. The Secretary of Higher Education shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
2. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.18A:71B-2 or any other law or regulation to the contrary, a student who meets the requirements of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is eligible to apply for, and participate in, any student financial aid program administered by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to the full extent permitted by federal law. The Legislature finds and declares that this section is a state law within the meaning of section 411(d) of the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” (8 U.S.C. s.1621(d)).
b. The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall establish procedures and forms that enable students who meet the requirements of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to apply for, and participate in, all student financial aid programs administered by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to the full extent permitted by federal law.
c. The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill allows a student, including a student without lawful immigration status, to pay in-State tuition at the State’s public institutions of higher education if the student meets the following requirements: (1) attended high school in this State for three or more years; (2) graduated from a high school in this State or attained the equivalent of a high school diploma in the State; (3) registers as an entering student or is currently enrolled in a public institution of higher education not earlier than the fall semester of the 2013-2014 academic year; (4) in the case of a person without lawful immigration status, files an affidavit with the institution of higher education stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his immigration status or will file an application as soon as he is eligible to do so; and (5) in the case of a person without lawful immigration status, meets the eligibility criteria, and has submitted a request to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, for consideration of the United States Department of Homeland Security’s deferred action for childhood arrivals process. The latter requirement is based on a June 15, 2012 memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security describing a process whereby certain individuals who came to the United States as children and meet several specified criteria could request consideration of deferred action, a determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion.
Under the bill, a student who meets the above requirements for in-State tuition eligibility is also eligible to apply for, and participate in, any student financial aid program administered by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. The bill directs the authority to establish procedures and forms that enable these students to apply for, and participate in, the State student assistance programs. Existing federal law, 8 U.S.C. s.1621(d), permits a state to make an alien without lawful immigration status eligible for a state or local public benefit for which the alien would otherwise be ineligible under federal law only through the enactment of a state law that affirmatively provides for such eligibility. The bill declares that the section concerning financial aid eligibility is a state law within the meaning of this federal provision.