For thousands of immigrant students in Tennessee, the question this legislative session is this: Will their state be the next to grant “Tuition Equity” so that a barrier to college education will crumble?
If state lawmakers agree, an estimated 25,000 young people will be able to pay lower tuition to earn their degrees, according to the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), which calls this legislative effort “common sense.”
The dropping of that barrier, TIRRC and other supporters say, will end what is essentially a two-tier price structure in which immigrant youth – who have lived in the state for nearly their entire lives – pay about three times more to earn a college degree.
Following previous efforts to pass such legislation, state Sen. Todd Gardenhire and state Rep. Mark White introduced bills to make college tuition in Tennessee more affordable, TIRRC reported on Feb. 11.
If approved, the legislation would help immigrant youth, whose parents brought them to the United States without documents. For these young people, who are known as “DREAMers,” the U.S. is their home.
The introduction of the bills earned praise from Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of TIRRC.
“For years, immigrant youth and their allies across Tennessee have been campaigning for tuition equality, and now we are closer than ever,” she said in a statement. “We are hopeful that DREAMers in the Class of 2015 will be able to walk across the graduation stage with greater access to higher education.”
TIRRC has advocated for tuition changes since 2012, framing the issue as one of equal opportunity to education.
Last year, the effort to lower tuition for immigrant youth received support from students, families, academic leaders and business groups, including the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, according to TIRRC.
But there was not complete agreement among lawmakers for the legislation to become law. A bill lingered that year in an education subcommittee in the state Senate and was never brought to the floor for a full vote.
In Florida last year, state lawmakers also hesitated on moving forward with a “Tuition Equity” bill. Immigration activists, students and families, though, demanded a vote. In the end, they succeeded and toppled opposition from two powerful state lawmakers.
In Tennessee last year, after supporters realized that the bill would not progress, Cesar Bautista, a youth leader with TIRRC, remained steadfast. “Our dreams are what’s at stake, and we will never give up,” he said in a statement.
If Tennessee approves the tuition legislation, the state would become one of about 20 to help immigrant youth with college costs, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
For an out-of-state resident who wants to earn a bachelor’s degree, the cost to attend a semester at the University of Tennessee, for example, costs more than $15, 100. In comparison, a state resident would pay about $5,900 for the same semester.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition is a member-led organization that works on defending rights, raising social justice issues and making the state more inclusive.