On Monday, July 25, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed a portion of the “California DREAM Act.” Although significantly different from the national legislation known as the DREAM Act, the California DREAM Act would also provide unprecedented opportunities to undocumented students who were brought to the United States as children and who wish to pursue higher education here.
The bill recently signed by Governor Brown, AB130, will become law on January 1, 2012. It will allow students at public colleges and universities in California to apply for and receive privately-funded financial aid that is overseen by the schools, regardless of their immigration status. Previously, undocumented students were ineligible for these types of aid.
The more controversial portion of the California DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to receive some publicly-funded financial aid that is administered by public colleges and universities, is still pending in the California Legislature.