Under Assembly Bill 131 signed into law on Oct. 8 by Governor Brown, certain non-resident students of the CSU will now be eligible for state-funded financial aid.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2013, some non-resident CSU students who demonstrate need and have met certain criteria will be eligible for such aid under the second half of the California Dream Act, a measure authored by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo.
“Until now, some students who have received at least their high school education in California have been not been able to receive financial aid, creating an additional barrier in reaching their goal of a college degree,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “The signing of AB 131 will now make it easier for those students to accomplish that goal and to become even greater contributors to the state’s economy.”
Non-resident students who have attended high school in California for at least three years and received a high school diploma or its equivalent will be eligible for state administered financial aid. These are students who have graduated, but have yet to become fully documented immigrants, in most cases through no fault of their own.
The CSU estimates enrollment of about 3,600 students who are non-residents who attended a California high school for three years and graduated from a California high school. Under AB 131, members of this group and potentially other undocumented students would now qualify for state-funded aid.
