The California DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act is a package of California state laws that allow children who were brought into the US under the age of 16 without proper visas/immigration documentation who have attended school on a regular basis and otherwise meet in-state tuition and GPA requirements to apply for student financial aid benefits. It and past similarly named legislation have been authored by California State Senator Gil Cedillo.
In 2011, the California Dream Act was divided into two bills, AB130 and AB131. AB130 was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on July 25, 2011, and AB131 was signed by Brown on October 8, 2011.
AB 130 allows students who meet AB 540 criteria to apply for non-state funded scholarships for colleges and universities. AB 131 allows students who meet AB 540 criteria to apply for state-funded financial aid.
Legislative history
Schwarzenegger administration
In 2006, the California DREAM Act was proposed in the form of SB 160. Under SB 160, students who were eligible for in-state tuition would have been given access to public financial assistance (undocumented students had already been eligible for private assistance) for higher education at California State Colleges and Universities. In addition, those students would have been given a fee waiver for California Community Colleges. It passed in both houses but was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In 2007, during the next session of the legislature, another version of the bill in the form of "SB 1". This bill would have offered similar fee waivers for high school graduates who met non-resident in-state tuition requirements. Again, the bill passed both houses of the California state legislature. Schwarzenegger vetoed it again on 14 October 2007 citing cost concerns.
In 2008, SB 1301, which remained unchanged from SB 1, was vetoed by the Governor.
In 2009, SB 160 was held in Senate Appropriations Committee in 2009.
In 2010 Gil Cedillo introduced the bill as SB 1460. It passed the State Senate on 3 June 2010 and the State Assembly on 20 August 2010. It went back to both houses again and passed in both on 31 August 2010.
Brown administration
On January 11, 2011 Assemblyman Cedillo reintroduced the legislation as two separate bills, AB130, and AB131. AB 130 was signed into law by Jerry Brown on July 25, 2011, granting undocumented students access to an estimated $88 million in private financial aid in the form of scholarships and grants. AB 131, which allows undocumented students who meet criteria for in-state tuition to apply for financial aid, was signed by Brown on October 8.
Overview of AB 131
AB 131 directly affects those students who are exempt from paying out of state tuition at California Community Colleges and the California State University as stated in Section 68130.7 of the California Education Code Those students would include undocumented immigrants who graduate from high school and who show “merit and need”.
Under AB 131, those students mentioned above and those students who meet the requirements are “eligible to apply for and participate in all student financial aid programs administered by the State of California to the full extent permitted by federal law”. Cal Grants represent the major source of aid that these students would gain access to. A Cal Grant is a form of aid that represents funds available to students that meet GPA, parent income, and high school graduation requirements. AB 131 would not give those students mentioned above access to Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards unless the specified conditions are met. One source has cited that AB 131 would open an estimated $38 million worth of financial assistance to undocumented students. AB 131 would also require California Community Colleges who are under the administration of the “Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges” to waive certain fees for those students who are exempt from paying out of state tuition. (info. Sen. Pg 3) Some students are excluded from the benefits associated with AB 131 as stipulated by the bill. Graduates of technical schools and adult schools would not be considered eligible under the new law. Governor Jerry Brown also made an amendment to the bill that postponed implementation until January 2013.