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First part of California DREAM Act signed into law Monday

By Shoshee Jau

July 25, 2011 11:59 p.m.

Undocumented students in California will soon have financial aid options with Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of one of two parts of the California DREAM Act into law Monday night.

AB 130 allows undocumented students to receive financial aid from private sources in the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems.

“Today, signing this DREAM Act is another piece of investment in people, because people are what drives the culture, the economy, the state and our country,” said Brown, minutes before the signing.

The bill, authored by Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo, passed in the Senate on July 14 and will become law on Jan. 1. Previous versions of the California DREAM Act have been vetoed multiple times by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Undocumented high school graduates who meet a residency criteria and currently attend a state school will be able to receive certain forms of aid, including university-administered financial aid programs and the Board of Governors fee waiver for enrollment fees.

AB 130’s companion bill, AB 131, would expand financial aid to undocumented students to include assistance from public sources, including Cal Grants. The bill remains in the Senate after passing through the Senate Education Committee.

Brown, who stated his support of the California DREAM Act during his gubernatorial campaign, had been expected to sign the bill, said Abel Valenzuela, professor and chair of the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies. Brown’s audience at the signing of the legislation at Los Angeles City College included Chancellor Gene Block.

Previously, under the law AB 540, undocumented students were granted the possibility of paying in-state tuition but could not access any forms of financial aid.

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