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Arizona Lawmaker Wants To Withhold State Money From Schools That Offer In-State Tuition To DREAMers

An Arizona lawmaker wants to withhold state money from universities and colleges that offer in-state tuition to so called Dreamers.

Representative Bob Thorpe crafted a measure that would empower Arizona’s attorney general to decide whether an education institution that receives state funds is in violation of the law or the constitution. If it is, the school would lose 10 percent of its state funding.

While HB 2119 doesn’t specifically mention tuition, Thorpe said he crafted the measure after community colleges in several counties, including Maricopa and Pima, allowed those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to pay in-state tuition if they meet other residency requirements.

Even if Thorpe’s measure becomes law, its effects could be blunted. Pima and Maricopa Community Colleges no longer get any state aid, though others still do.

Universities get about a third of their funding from the state.