TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House passed a bill Thursday night expanding the rights of undocumented students to receive in-state tuition.
The measure allows students who have attended four consecutive years of high school in Florida to qualify for in-state tuition if they are accepted to college within 24 months of graduation.
The bill, passed by a margin of 81-33, met no opposition on the floor.
“In this Sunshine State, opportunity should shine brightest,” said Rep. Janet Cruz, D-District 58, who spoke in favor of the bill during the debate.
The next step for this bill is to pass through Senate committees, a floor vote and a final approval by Gov. Rick Scott. The governor has publicly expressed support for the bill, as reported by the Miami Herald.
For UF students like Mariana Castro, a 19-year-old UF interdisciplinary studies neurobiological science freshman, this has been a long time coming.
“I never would have thought we would have come this far and have such an impact,” she said. “It started out so small, and I’m happy to see it grow.”
Castro, born in Peru and brought to the U.S. when she was 10 years old, is one of many students affected by this bill.
She is a member of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This does not offer citizenship but instead offers security from deportation in the form of work permits, according to the Immigration Policy Center.
Due to this status, before the bill, she could not qualify for in-state tuition and had to defer Spring 2014 because she could not afford it.
Earlier in the day, Castro and other students representing universities including Florida State University, University of Central Florida and UF rallied on the steps of the Florida Historic Capitol Museum.
Linda Hon, program director for public relations and social advocacy at UF, said she applauds Gators for Tuition Equity, which lobbied Thursday.
“When I see young people doing things like this it’s so inspiring,” Hon said. “To me it’s the essence of what it means to be free: To be able to express.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 3/21/2014 under the headline "House OKs in-state tuition for undocumented students"]
