Tallahassee, FL -- February 16, 2012 --

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to pass SB 106, a bill that would have granted in-state tuition for all Florida graduates regardless of their immigration status or the status of their parents. After a heated debate preceded by testimonies from students who shared their personal stories with the legislators and others that shared the positive economic impact of in-state tuition for Florida, the bill failed with 3 Yeas (Senators Flores, Braynon and Joyner) and 4 Nays (Senators Richter, Thrasher, Gardiner and Simmons).

“Denying access to education and promoting exclusion is wrong. Our legislators are basically choosing who has access to education and who doesn’t, discriminating thousands of talented youth only because of their immigrant origin,” says María Rodriguez, Executive Director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “Latinos are the fastest growing electorate in Florida and leaving these children behind is purposely keeping them from being educated and becoming leaders and stakeholders in our communities. What kind of Florida do our legislators want to build without an educated population?”

Nanci Palacios, a student of biomedical science in Hillsborough County who dreams to be a doctor, shared her testimony during the Committee. She has been paying out-of-state tuition for several years, working full-time to be able to pay for her classes. “When we heard the vote, it was disappointing but not discouraging. I want to keep fighting not only for me but also for my siblings who I constantly encourage to continue studying and follow their dreams. I will continue working until we pass in-state tuition,” says Nanci. “I feel some legislators think our parents don’t pay taxes, but they do, and those go to universities to provide in-state tuition for other Florida resident tax-payers. In-state tuition is not free tuition. Why can’t we benefit from the contributions of our own parents?”

“It’s disappointing that the Legislature chose to pass on an opportunity to create some fundamental fairness in access to education in Florida,” said Derek Newton, Communications Director for the ACLU of Florida. “Equal access to opportunity is a cornerstone of the American dream and the Legislature should be looking for ways to expand access to higher education for everyone instead of keeping discriminatory barriers in place.”

Some background on SB 106 and in-state tuition

SB 106 would have allowed thousands of Floridians who were born or raised in the State of Florida to pay in-state tuition in order to enroll in colleges or universities. Currently, approximately 192,000* undocumented students and other many U.S. born Floridians whose parents are undocumented, absent or incarcerated, are forced to pay out-of-state tuition which is three or four times higher, only because they can’t provide Florida residency documents of their parents as required by current state laws.

Only 5%* of undocumented youth in Florida have access to higher education because they and their families cannot afford it, and many U.S.-born Floridians have to flee the state to be able to continue with their studies.

In-state tuition is nothing new to our country. 13 other states have already passed similar laws, including Texas, California and Utah. Florida is the fourth largest immigrant state and still does not have in-state tuition.

Additionally, in-state tuition is not new for Florida’s Legislature. Similar bills have been filed since 2003 and passed the House and the Senate floors in several occasions. Even in 2011, the same Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to pass in-state tuition.

* Data taken from the National Immigration Law Center: http://nilc.org/DREAMfacts.html

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2nd Fla. immigrant tuition bill dies in committee

Tallahassee, FL (AP) - A bill that would have let certain illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition at Florida colleges and universities is dead in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted it down Thursday largely along party lines.

The bill (SB 106) would have affected students who graduate from a Florida high school they've attended for at least three years regardless of immigration status.

Another bill that (SB 1018) would have allowed in-state tuition for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants met the same fate in another Senate committee last month.

Thursday's vote disappointed a group of Hispanic students wearing orange mortar boards. Several testified in favor of the bill.

Even if approved, it faced long odds. It had three more committee references and a House companion was not scheduled for a hearing.