California benefits from bright young minds.
They're our next generation of entrepreneurs and visionaries, inventors and manufacturers - the spark plugs for a vibrant economic engine that's needed for the nation's largest and most productive state to thrive in a global marketplace.
Keeping as many of them here as possible is vital to the state's economy. That's why it's smart policy to extend lower, resident college tuition at the state's universities and colleges to a small percentage of non-resident high school graduates, including some illegal immigrants, who have established ties to California.
An educated workforce benefits Golden State residents, directly and indirectly. And residents will continue to benefit from the state's nine-year-old tuition policy following a decision last week by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, the court dismissed a challenge from an anti-immigration group seeking to overturn the state law.
In doing so, the Supreme Court effectively upheld California's law and, by extension, similar laws in 11 other states. The state Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the law last year, prompting the unsuccessful appeal by the Washington-based Immigration Reform Law Institute.
At the University of California, the difference between resident and non-resident tuition is $23,000 a year for undergraduates. The savings are smaller but still substantial at California State University and in the state's 106 community colleges.
To qualify, a non-resident student must have attended California high schools for at least three years and graduated here. In the case of an illegal immigrant, the student also must sign an affidavit pledging to apply for legal residence in the United States. Another step in that direction would be passage of the Dream Act, federal legislation offering legal residence for illegal immigrants who attend college or serve in the military.
California spends about $8,000 per student on K-12 education every year, and the U.S. Supreme Court has said that states are constitutionally obligated to educate all children, including the children of illegal immigrants. With that investment already made, it makes little sense to deny students an equal shot at a higher education that better prepares them to contribute to the state's economy and, in turn, the public treasuries that pay for public education.
While the U.S. Supreme Court didn't comment on the tuition law, the state Supreme Court focused on the fact that reduced tuition rates aren't based on immigration status. Instead, the determining factor is time spent in California schools.
About 41,000 students, most of them attending community colleges, benefit from the law. It's unknown how many of them are illegal immigrants. However, UC officials say the number is relatively small on their campuses - about 600 of the 2,000 non-resident students paying resident tuition.
California and the nation need college graduates, and the demand will only keep growing. Adjusting tuition rules for qualified students is one way to produce more graduates, and keeping them in California schools may keep them here permanently.About 41,000 students, most of them attending community colleges, benefit from the law.
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