By Colorado State Senator Mike Johnston and Colorado State Senator Pat Steadman
Political courage is all too rare these days, which is why we want to make sure that Metropolitan State University’s president and Board of Trustees receive proper recognition for their recent creation of a separate category of tuition for Colorado’s undocumented students.
For several years, education advocates in Colorado have been trying to pass the ASSET bill — legislation that enables Colorado high school graduates (regardless of immigration status) to attend the state’s colleges and universities at a cost between in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition.
This year, support for the ASSET bill was stronger than ever. A coalition in support of the bill including: business groups such as Colorado Succeeds and the Colorado Forum, notable Republicans Alex Cranberg and Ralph Nagel, an established consortia of higher education institutions (including the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the Colorado Community College system), over a dozen different faith-based organizations, and the editorial board of the Denver Post.
But even in the face of popular, bipartisan support, politics and courage are rare bedfellows. Earlier this year, Republican leadership refused to allow a floor vote on the ASSET bill, sending it instead to a kill committee, where the dwarfs of political courage shrunk down onto the seven Republicans who voted against it.
This was the sixth version of the ASSET bill to meet a similar fate. It is all the more impressive that Metro State University decided (correctly, in our view) that actions speak louder than words. On June 7th, their Board of Trustees voted to establish a special tuition rate for undocumented students.
The University was careful in their new policy. True to the principles behind the ASSET bill, the school’s tuition rate ensures that undocumented students bear the full cost of their education and receive no state subsidies. It is a policy that rewards achievement and effort. To be eligible a student must have attended a Colorado high school for at least three years, graduated or received a general equivalency diploma, be in good legal standing (other than their undocumented status), and be either in the process of or intend to seek lawful immigration status.