Dive Brief:
- A Florida state senator introduced a bill Monday to repeal in-state tuition benefits for undocumented students.
- Since 2014, Florida has allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates across its public colleges if they attended their last three years of high school in the state and enroll in higher education within two years of graduation.
- Republican State Sen. Randy Fine described his bill as a way to "rebalance the scales" for Florida citizens. “This is a no-brainer way to reduce the size of government and free up resources to help Floridians in need," he said in a statement. If passed, the reversal would take effect July 1.
Dive Insight:
Florida has two higher education systems — the Florida College System and the State University System of Florida — which oversee 28 public colleges and a dozen public universities, respectively.
The state ranks as having the lowest for tuition and fees for in-state students attending public four-year institutions, according to U.S. News & World Report. At the University of Florida, for instance, undergraduate in-state students pay $6,380 in tuition annually for the 2024-25 academic year. Out-of-state students pay $28,658.
Fine argued that the offering in-state tuition to undocumented students amounts to taxpayer-funded subsidies. When unveiling the legislation, he also invoked President-elect Donald Trump, whose pending inauguration has stoked concerns among undocumented students and international students.
Fine announced his resignation from the Florida Senate last month, amid his special election campaign for a seat in the U.S. Congress. His last day in his current position will be March 31.
The evolution of the policy illustrates the Republican Party's intensifying scrutiny of immigration.
A decade ago, the law waiving out-of-state fees for undocumented students passed a Republican-controlled legislature. The 2014 bill's author, Jeanette Nuñez, now serves as lieutenant governor under Gov. Ron DeSantis, and she has backed his aggressive anti-immigration policies and rhetoric.
Nuñez — who will become the governor if DeSantis is tapped for a Trump administration cabinet position — said earlier this year that Florida has become "a blueprint for other states to protect their citizens against illegal immigration."
One report estimated that about 40,000 undocumented students attended Florida colleges in 2021.
