UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT STUDENTS WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR CALIFORNIA AID

Undocumented immigrant students in California will be able to receive state-funded financial aid in 2013 to attend college, under a new law signed on Saturday by Governor Jerry Brown. The law allows top students who are on a path to citizenship to apply and receive the state aid, the governor said. About 2,500 students are projected to receive Cal Grants totaling $14.5 million, according the California Department of Finance. That averages out to $5,800 per student. The funding amounts to 1% of the overall $1.4 billion Cal Grant program, official said. The new law – AB 131 – is one of two pieces of legislation known as the California Dream Act and will become effective January 1, 2013.

“Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,” Brown said in a statement from Sacramento. “The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.” Currently, illegal immigrants students in California must pay resident tuition rates if they graduate from a high school and are actively seeking to legalize their immigration status.

excerpt from LBN E-lerts (http://www.lbnelert.com)