Education

Students Sue Board of Regents Over Tuition Policy

December 5th, 2013

A DeKalb County superior court judge held a hearing Thursday for a lawsuit filed by a group of students against the Board of Regents. The group is trying to overturn a state policy that requires undocumented students to pay out-of-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.

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Prior to the hearing, some students held a press conference outside the courthouse. Raymond Partolan, a plaintiff in the case, said it’s time to change the policy.

“These students that are standing around me, myself included, are hard-working individuals,” Partolan said. “They’re innovative and they’re creative leaders who want nothing else but to go to college and to give back to this community that they feel has given them so much.”

A policy change wouldn’t affect Partolan, who has a full scholarship to Mercer University, a private school in Macon. But he said that’s not why he joined the lawsuit.

“These people here, they’re equally qualified as me and I think they deserve to go to college as well and they don’t have this opportunity,” he said.

Depending on the school and number of courses a student takes, out-of-state tuition rates can be 2-4 times as much as in-state rates. Nina Morales wants to apply to Georgia Perimeter College. But, she says, that will depend on the outcome of the case.

“Right now, I have been saving a lot of my money,” Morales said. “And I already have some of it, but I mean, I really hope they lift the ban because otherwise I won’t be able to pay for it. I’m going to have to drop out and I don’t want to do that.”

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott told both parties he needs more information from them before the case can proceed.

Officials with the Board of Regents wouldn’t comment on the case. The policy was implemented in 2011 after an undocumented student at Kennesaw State University was stopped for a traffic offense and almost deported. Her arrest triggered a statewide debate about undocumented students attending public colleges.