“Our board made this decision in order to ensure compliance with the state of Ohio’s policy on the issue and to provide educational opportunities to as many students as possible,” said trustees’ chairman Bernard Wright. “Additionally, this small group of students pay the cost of their education entirely out of pocket and are not eligible for federal financial aid.”
Sinclair’s decisions follows the advice of Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey. Citing an opinion from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Carey told the state’s public colleges and universities in August that DACA students should qualify for in-state rates, which can be half what they have paid in the past. Clark State, Columbus State and Cuyahoga community colleges have already heeded the state’s advice and are now offering DACA students in-state tuition.
Sinclair estimates the change won’t have much of a financial impact on the college because there are only 13 DACA students enrolled now. The DACA program, created by President Barack Obama in 2012, gives temporary legal status to people brought to the United States illegally when they were children.
Advocates say the issue is not only important for the students, it is vital to the state’s economic future because Ohio faces a gap between the number of residents with a college credential (35.5 percent) and the number of jobs that will require that education in the future (57 percent), according to the Lumina Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to higher education.
But two Republican lawmakers have submitted a bill that would block DACA students from getting in-state rates. State representatives Matt Lynch, R-Bainbridge Twp., and Wes Retherford, R-Hamilton, say Carey’s directive will cost Ohio “tens of millions of dollars.”
Their bill, number 254, was introduced Aug. 27 but has not yet been assigned to a committee, according to a state website.
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