For Immediate Release
August 30, 2006
For more information, contact:
Shanda Ivory
(703) 836-2222 x103
(Alexandria, VA) – Noting the plight of hundreds of thousands of children and young adults who have been effectively excluded from educational opportunity by an inconsistency in federal law and years of state legislative deliberation on the issue, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) urged Congressional leaders to take immediate action to allow states the right to grant in-state tuition for undocumented students who have attended and graduated from public K-12 schools in their states. In so doing, the association expressed its disappointment with field hearings such as that scheduled in Greeley, CO at the University of Northern Colorado on September 1.
“The level of partisan rhetoric in the House of Representatives has reached an unacceptable and unproductive level,” said Joyce Smith, NACAC executive director. “We believe that the debate over state tuition policies with respect to undocumented students who have completed high school in their states should be conducted with expediency and in a manner befitting our highest-ranking elected officials.”
While both houses have passed immigration reform legislation, normally resulting in conference procedures, House leaders derailed the normal legislative process in favor of hearings. The New York Times recently reported on the political motivations that factored into the decision to hold hearings in Congressional districts where Republicans are engaged in tight election campaigns. (“Critics Say Politics Driving Immigration Hearings,” New York Times, August 7, 2006) In that article, Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), who is waging a tough re-election campaign, stated, “They [immigration hearings] are very deliberately planned. “A lot of Republicans are listening to a very shrill part of their base who are very loud about this issue, and they believe that this translates into votes in the base.”
“Our association recognizes the legal quandary that prohibits tens of thousands of high school graduates from participating in postsecondary education each year,” stated Jon Westover, chairman of NACAC’s Government Relations Committee and senior associate director of admission at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. “Many states, including California and Texas, have acknowledged the economic and political ramifications of allowing this quandary to remain unaddressed, and have enacted common sense solutions to eliminate it. We urge Congress not to discount these states’ perspectives on this important issue.”
“The Supreme Court has said that these children deserve equal protection under the law,” stated Myra Gonzalez, chair of NACAC’s Human Relations Committee and associate director of honors programs at Texas A & M University. “As professionals who work with students interested in college, we know these students have done what it takes to achieve the American dream. Each day that legislative action is not approved results in more students who slip between the cracks.”
About NACAC
NACAC is an Alexandria, VA-based education association of more than 9,200 secondary school counselors, independent counselors, college admission and financial aid officers, enrollment managers, and organizations that work with students as they make the transition from high school to postsecondary education. The association, founded in 1937, is committed to maintaining high standards that foster ethical and social responsibility among those involved in the transition process, as outlined in the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice. More information about NACAC is available at www.nacacnet.org.