Gov. Doug Ducey this week applauded the Arizona Board of Regents’ recent decision to offer discounted tuition to Arizona high school graduates ineligible for the in-state rate, including unauthorized immigrants.
In an interview with KJZZ host Mark Brodie, posted online Tuesday, Ducey said he believes that “somebody that graduates from an Arizona high school is an Arizona kid.”
“I congratulate the regents for a first step around this,” Ducey said. “I do believe that if you are here and graduate from an Arizona high school, you should have the same opportunities that anyone else that graduates from Arizona high schools has.”
The discounted rate, about $16,500 annually, is still nearly $6,000 more than the in-state amount paid by students who have legal immigration status and meet other residency requirements.
Ducey didn’t elaborate on what he would like to see after the regents’ “first step.” The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regents first established the discounted rate — 150% of in-state tuition — for migrant students with legal status through the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
At about $16,500, the discounted rate is substantially more than the $11,000 in-state rate at Arizona’s state universities, but much less than the $30,000 out-of-state rate.
And Arizona graduates without legal status are just one group that will benefit from the regents’ decision to expand the eligibility pool.
Students who graduated in Arizona but moved away or established residency in another state are now eligible for the 150% rate, too.
Brodie asked Ducey if he was confident the regents’ decision was “legally OK,” given a ballot measure approved by Arizona voters in 2006. Proposition 300 prohibited people without lawful immigration status from getting tuition waivers, grants, scholarships or financial aid subsidized by state dollars.
Regents argue the 150% rate does not violate the proposition because it covers the cost for the students to attend the universities without subsidizing their education.
“We live in a litigious society, and ...it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if someone brought suit,” Ducey said. “I think the regents did their best to design this so ... that they follow the law.
“I think we need to continue to follow the law, but we also want to make certain that Arizona high school graduates don’t have to leave our state to pursue opportunity.”
