AB 540 allows qualified undocumented students to be exempt from paying significantly higher out-of-state tuition at public colleges and universities in California. By making college more affordable, AB 540 has had a significant impact on the lives of many undocumented students who have dreams of attending college.
Students are eligible for the AB 540 exemption if they meet ALL of the following requirements:
- Attend a California high school for 3 or more years;
- Graduate from a California high school or receive the equivalent, such as a GED;
- Submit an affidavit (a written promise) to the California public college or university where they are attending or plan to attend. In this statement students declare that they meet all AB 540 requirements and if they are undocumented, that they have filed an application to adjust their immigration status or will do so as soon as they are eligible to do so.
If you are an undocumented student, you are not alone. MALDEF encourages you to pursue your educational aspirations. You CAN go to college! It is more important than ever for undocumented students to take advantage of this valuable educational opportunity. Below are resources for you to have a better understanding of AB 540 and to assist you in pursuing your dreams of going to college.
MALDEF continues to provide community education about AB 540 as well as works to protect AB 540 in the legislature and the courts. It is important that as many AB 540-qualifying students as possible know about this law. You can become an advocate and empower other students by using the resources listed below.
MALDEF Urges California Supreme Court Review Of In-State Tuition Ruling
AB 540 Still Remains in Effect Pending Final Resolution
September 16, 2008
SAN ANTONIO, TX — On Monday, a federal district court in San Antonio signed a Consent Order memorializing a settlement agreement reached between the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (the District) and Mexican American students and their parents represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). In June of 2007, the District asked the court to dismiss it from the court’s supervision, which dated back to a 1976 desegregation decree. The plaintiffs, through their original class representative Ms. Genoveva Morales, opposed the motion and the parties eventually settled the case in mediation.
“This Consent Order recognizes the strides made by the District over the years to desegregate, but it also provides a specific plan to completely root out the continuing effects of discrimination in a number of areas,” said MALDEF lead counsel David Hinojosa. “Both the District’s leadership and Ms. Morales should be commended for their efforts to settle this case and bring the District into a new era of change and opportunity for Latino students.”
In 1970, Ms. Morales filed a class action on behalf of all Latino children and their parents to end the segregation of Latino students in the public schools of Uvalde (located approximately 80 miles west of San Antonio). The lawsuit came at the height of the Latino civil rights movement and on the heels of a nationally publicized walkout by Latino students. After a trial in 1973, the district court found no illegal segregation, but the Fifth Circuit reversed, finding segregation still existed over twenty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed school segregation. The district court then entered a decree, ordering the District to desegregate.
“I am pleased to reach this agreement with the District, because not only will Latino students benefit from it, but in turn, the whole community of Uvalde will benefit,” said Genoveva Morales, now 79 years young. “It has been a long struggle but we are seeing progress. Although my children are now grown, it is time for other Latino parents and their children to take advantage of this opportunity.”
The Consent Order also retains court supervision for a period of at least three years and provides specific remedies to further desegregate the District in the areas of bilingual education, faculty, gifted and talented, advanced placement and pre-advanced placement, extracurricular and co-curricular activities, and student achievement. The Consent Order grants dismissal in the areas of student assignments, non-faculty staff, facilities and transportation.
MALDEF Urge A La Corte Surprema De California Examinar El Dictamen De La Matricula Estatal
La ley AB 540 todavía permanece en efecto en espera de una resolución final
September 16, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CA — Este lunes, una Corte de Apelación de California emitió un dictamen que pone en duda la validez de la ley AB 540 de California. La AB540 es una ley de California que provee una dispensa de los costos de matrícula no estatal en los colegios y universidades públicas de California para cualquier estudiante — sin importar el estatus migratorio del estudiante — quien haya completado tres años en una preparatoria de California y ha obtenido un diploma de la preparatoria.
Específicamente, la Corte de Apelación mantuvo que la ley AB 540 concedía elegibilidad para costos de matrícula estatal basada en residencia dentro del estado y que por esta razón, la ley violaba la ley federal. Este dictamen fue hecho por la corte a pesar del hecho de que el criterio para la elegibilidad esta basado en asistir una preparatoria de California y recibir un diploma de la preparatoria, criterio que no está relacionado a el tema de residencia dentro del estado. El caso probablemente será resuelto através de una apelación hecha a la Corte Suprema de California.
“La decisión de la corte de apelación de ayer no debe de cerrar la puerta hacia la educación para los estudiantes inmigrantes indocumentados en California. Ellos son graduados de nuestras escuelas públicas y ellos, y sus padres, han pagado impuestos al estado. California los necesita para nuestro futuro y ignorar sus lazos a California nos hace a todos más pobres,” dijo la Abogada Regional de MALDEF Nancy Ramírez.
La ley AB 540 permanece en efecto, y probablemente continuará permaneciendo en efecto hasta que haya una resolución final del caso. Mientras tanto, los estudiantes quienes son elegibles, deberían de poder continuar recibiendo la dispensa de los costos de matrícula. Si la ley de AB 540 es en última instancia derrotada, los estudiantes indocumentados quienes habrían sido elegibles para la dispensa de los costos de matrícula bajo la ley AB 540, todavía serán permitidos a asistir a los colegios y universidades públicas de California pero serán requeridos pagar los costos de matrícula no estatal en vez de pagar la matrícula estatal.
La decisión es otra razón para el próximo Presidente y Congreso a que cumplan con su autoridad constitucional por medio de promulgar una reforma migratoria comprensiva. Muchos de estos estudiantes y sus padres trabajan en los trabajos más peligrosos y difíciles dentro de nuestro estado y país. Su trabajo duro y sus aspiraciones para recibir una educación superior no pueden ser ignorados.
“Nosotros llevaremos esta lucha hasta la Corte Suprema de California, si es necesario. Los estudiantes actuales de AB 540, quienes la gran mayoría son ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos, no deben de desanimarse. Su lugar dentro del colegio permanece intacto. Ni la Corte de Apelación ayer, ni cualquier otra corte en America ha atacado la ley AB 540 o el principio de tras de la ley,” dijo Cynthia Valenzuela, la Directora de Litigio de MALDEF.
MALDEF buscó intervenir a nivel del juicio y presentó un escrito de un amigo de la corte con la Corte de Apelación. MALDEF trabajará junto con legisladores, oficiales del estado, estudiantes y la comunidad para permitir que los estudiantes de AB 540 permanezcan y paguen los costos de matrícula estatal.