CPLC celebrates passage of SCR 1044 for Arizona in-state college tuition for Dreamers

10th May 2021

Chicanos Por La Causa applauds today’s bipartisan House passage of Arizona Senate Concurrent Resolution 1044. This marks an important step towards providing in-state college tuition for all students who graduate high school in Arizona, regardless of documentation status. Voters will have the final say on the 2022 ballot.

Every year, about 2,000 Dreamers graduate from Arizona high schools. CPLC and other Latino, business, and community leaders pushed hard for this resolution so Dreamers can pursue a post-secondary education. Currently, Dreamers pay 150% of in-state tuition in Arizona, making college and university unaffordable and inaccessible for many students.

Dreamers should not have to pay $6,000 more a year for out-of-state tuition to attend one of our state universities. We need them here. We need their talents. We need their ideas. Dreamers are an important part of our state’s economic future, with Arizona increasingly relying on a skilled and educated workforce to compete regionally, nationally and internationally.

Arizona is one of just six states that prohibits in-state tuition for Dreamers. CPLC believes once Arizona voters fully understand this issue as a win-win for our state – just as many supportive legislators do – this misguided and misinformed law will be corrected in 2022.

Better education translates into a better Arizona. In this instance, we believe the key to better education is through voter education, and that’s what Chicanos Por La Causa intends to do to ensure final passage of in-state college tuition for Dreamers.