Copyright© 2005 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 18                   For Publication Date: December 16, 2005             No. 25

Lawsuit Alleges Unfair Assessment of Nonresident
Tuition by Higher Education  

A former congressman has filed a class action lawsuit challenging the California state law that allows undocumented immigrants to pay resident tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the state.  

AB 540 (Chapter 814/2001) allows undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria to be exempt from paying nonresident tuition at California ’s public colleges and universities. These students must have attended high school in California for three or more years, graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent, and filed an affidavit stating that they are in the process of legalizing their immigration status or will be filing an application to do so whenever they are eligible under federal law.  

When his term ended in 2001, Former Representative Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) moved back to California but allowed his two children to stay in Virginia to finish high school. When his children came back to California to attend college, they were required to pay nonresident rates for tuition and fees—as compared with an undocumented immigrant who meets the criteria and is exempt from nonresident tuition. Therefore, the lawsuit alleges that AB 540 violates a federal statute mandating that any state offering resident tuition to illegal immigrants must offer it to all out-of-state students as well.  

Ralph Black, attorney from the Chancellor’s Office, has stated that AB 540 was reviewed by the Attorney General and Legislative Counsel before it became law, and no violation of federal law was found at that time.  

The lawsuit was filed against the University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems on behalf of 42 nonresident students and their parents from 19 states, and could potentially affect 60,000 students. If the plaintiffs prevail, damages could be up to $70,000 to $305,000 per student, depending on which college system collected the nonresident tuition and fees.

—Sheila G. Vickers