Tuition Issue in Florida
Acting like America is part of the global society is tricky territory when it comes to higher education and the Legislature.
Florida lawmakers Tuesday sent out mixed messages on whether it’s wise to welcome international students and children of illegal immigrants with an affordable college education.
A bill (HB 205) by Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville, passing 7-2 in the House Education Council, would prohibit foreign students at state universities and colleges from receiving state money. The exception would be graduate students with assistantships or work-study.
A bill (SB 366) by Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, clearing the Senate Education Committee on a 5-2 vote, would let children of illegal immigrants who’ve been in Florida for three years pay in-state tuition at state universities and colleges. The number of Florida high-school students helped by this proposal may be from several hundred up to 4,000.
Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said he is concerned about the concept of higher-education incentives “to take advantage of life in America without going through the legal process.”
However, House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, said, “If the children of illegal aliens performed in high school and made good grades, they should not pay out-of-state tuition.”
Post Sept. 11, there was a slump in foreign students coming to the United States, but President George W. Bush recently said he wanted to bring them back by smoothing visa procedures. Locally, Florida State and Florida A&M universities and Tallahassee Community College have rising numbers of international students.
“The dangerous signal it sends to the world is that Florida doesn’t welcome international students,” said Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, one of two Democrats voting against Kravitz’s bill.
Money aiding international students, including those from Third World countries, is scarce already, noted Jesse Lutabingwa, who heads Florida A&M University’s international student program.
“It’s more of a discouraging posture we are sending out. It’s not a lot of money but you lose a lot,” Lutabingwa said. “When students go back home, they become important in government and the private sector. Guess who does the decision-making?”
The Kravitz bill would redirect about $6.9 million in universities and $1.3 million in community colleges from international students to Florida students needing financial aid. Yet foreign students plowed $626 million into Florida’s economy in 2004-05, according to the Association of International Educators.
Testifying before the Senate committee was Pablo Toro, 20, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA from a high school in South Florida and wasn’t accepted as a state resident by Florida Atlantic University. His family came from Colombia seeking political asylum. This aspiring engineer ended up applying to Broward Community College, and “Thanks to God, I was accepted.”
“They’re good kids,” said Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, who wrestled with the illegal immigrant issue before voting for in-state tuition. “The question becomes do you accept these students? Do you give them an opportunity to get an education?”
Source: Tallahassee Democrat, Mar. 15, 2006
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