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Politics & Government

Colleges Prepare for California Dream Act

Higher education institutions like Citrus College are preparing for their new roles, while affected students anticipate a better future. Some work to repeal the law.

Colleges across California are waiting for word from Sacramento about their roles in the implementation of the .

Set to take effect Jan. 2013, the two-part bill will make private and public financial aid available to students whose residence in this country is illegal, but who have attended a California high school for at least three years and graduated. They also must affirm they are in the process of obtaining citizenship.

AB 131, the second portion of the bill would allow undocumented students to apply for and participate in all forms of public student aid.

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At the community college level, the bill requires districts or schools to waive the fees of students exempt from non-resident tuition and creates a state-mandated local program to address the college’s new duties.

"We're still waiting to learn how the people up in Sacramento are going set this up," said Jim Baker, interim vice president of student services at Citrus College.

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The college estimates that the DREAM Act would benefit roughly 250 students there.

"It's not a large population, even statewide, it's not going to be a great number," Baker said.

According to the California Department of Finance, an estimated 2,500 students statewide would qualify for Cal Grants, fee waivers and institutional aid at a cost of about $59.1 million.

Crescencio Calderon, president of the AB 540 support group at Citrus, hails the passage of the California Dream Act as a huge milestone.

“It opens doors to a lot of undocumented students,” Calderon said. “I’m a big supporter of equal education.”

"This is designed to address the exceptional students in the K-12 system," Baker said.

The bill also states that financial aid awards to California resident students shall not be diminished.

Even with the potential good this would do for undocumented students, this legislation comes at a time when heavily slashed budgets have forced enrollment caps and severely reduced programs across higher education.

Citrus College has been allowing more students then space allows and will cut about 130 fewer classes next spring.

Community colleges are seeing an influx of high school grads, and students denied entry to universities waiting in line to get in.

Classes are in short supply.

All community colleges have shrunk," Baker said. He added that if a prospective student really demonstrates their achievements, they can get in.

Around 10,000 admissions were denied in fall 2010 to California State Universities, according to the CSU headquarters.

Opposition to the bill has already made itself heard and a referendum is underway to .

"The state has told students that it does not have adequate funds to pay for enough classes so they can graduate in four years," said Tim Donnelly (R-59th district) on his web site. “It is absurd. Even the governor expressed reservations about funding this subsidy in our current economic state."

Donnelly has reportedly collected more than 7,000 signatures to qualify the measure to go before voters in Nov. 2012. Needed is 505,000 signatures for the referendum to qualify.

Calderon said that the DREAM Act will not put students in competition with each other.

“It’s not going to take a grant and give it to someone else,” he said. “The resident students will have priority.”

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