In-state tuition for DREAMers stalls in Georgia House committee
ATLANTA - A bill that would allow DREAMers to pay in-state tuition at some Georgia colleges and universities stalled in the House Higher Education Committee late Wednesday.
"I'm as Georgia as they get. I grew up drinking sweet tea," Christian Olvera told the committee. "I graduated high school in 2010 and slowly realized that I was different. I had the grades to attend all these great universities, but I had the doors shut in my face."
Olvera was brought to the United States by his parents in 1999 and granted "lawful presence" under the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but he has not been able to complete his degree at Dalton State College because of the crushing cost of out-of-state tuition.
Under the "Georgia Resident In-State Tuition Act," students like Olvera would be eligible for in-state tuition if they graduated from a Georgia high school or earned a GED, lived in the U.S. since before their 12th birthday and lived in Georgia for at least four years. The law would also require students be under the age of 30.
DACA students would still not be able to pay in-state rates at Georgia's designated research institutions including the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State University.
"For me, it's about fairness," said State Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, the bill's primary sponsor. "I coach these kids. They go to church with me. They are in school with my kids and it's just saying, 'Look, we're invested in these kids already. I firmly believe that the federal government's going to do something about it, so why not allow these kids to continue their education in Georgia at an in-state rate."
Rep. Carpenter said he considers the measure a "workforce development" proposal.
"If we invest in these kids for four years, they're going to be paying back income taxes and sales tax. It's an eight-year payback plan," Carpenter explained.
Committee Chairman Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, said he feels for students like Olvera, but decided the committee should not take a vote on the bill because of a pending court action.
"I think we need to find the Georgia solution in parallel to what they're doing with the federal law," Martin said.