| October
23, 2003
TO: Chief Student Services Officers
Admissions Officers
Outreach Coordinators
Matriculation Directors
Financial Aid Directors
EOPS Directors
FROM: Linda Michalowski, Interim Vice Chancellor
Student Services and Special Programs
Sally J. Montemayor, Specialist
Student Services and Special Programs
SUBJECT: Revised Guidelines for Implementation of the AB 540
(Firebaugh) Exemption from Nonresident Tuition
Attached are the Revised Guidelines and Information
on AB 540 prepared by our legal staff. Several items have
been clarified and these guidelines should replace the May
2002 version. Please give
special note to the following items:
Item Explanation of Changes
6. Clarifies that students living outside the state and enrolled
via distance education are not eligible for the AB 540 exemption.
14. Allows for the continued use of the current
California Nonresident Tuition Exemption Request form for
the current year. A revised form is attached and must be used
for terms beginning after
Spring 2004.
26. Incorporates the effect of new CDE policies
regarding home schooling.
27. Summarizes our current analysis of eligibility
based on student attendance in adult education classes.
34. The federal restriction excluding B visa
holders from enrolling in courses until they have filed for
a change of status has been added.
37. The CSU has agreed to use the Chancellor's Office form.
The UC President's Office has indicated that for the time
being their campuses will continue to accept the intersegmental
form, but UC has also developed its own slightly different
form and, at some point in the future, some UC campuses may
require the use of the UC generated form. Students are encouraged
to inquire at the college of their choice when applying for
admission.
AB 540 (Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001) provides
an exemption from nonresident tuition for students who attended
a California high school for three or more years, graduated
from a California high school or attained the equivalent thereof
(GED or Certificate of High School Proficiency), and are enrolled
in an accredited public institution of higher education in
California. In the case of a person without lawful immigration
status, the student must sign an affidavit with the institution
of higher education stating that the student has filed an
application to legalize his or her
immigration status, or will file an application as soon as
he or she is eligible to do so.
Please be advised that any student who meets
the above criteria is entitled to an exemption from nonresident
tuition under AB 540. Our office has received many calls indicating
that students have
been improperly denied the exemption because they are not
unlawful immigrants but are former California residents returning
from another state. If you have any questions or need clarification
on individual cases, please do not hesitate to contact our
office.
Students who are admitted under AB 540 are
not entitled to resident classification and are ineligible
for the Board of Governors Enrollment Fee Waiver, EOPS services,
and other programs that require California residency as a
condition of eligibility. SB 328 (Escutia) in the current
legislative session would have allowed community colleges
to provide fee waivers and EOPS services to these students
but was vetoed by Governor Davis on October 14, 2003.
Questions regarding the guidelines should
be directed to the following staff:
Student Services: Sally J. Montemayor,
Specialist
smontema@cccco.edu
916.324.2564
Fiscal: Elias Regalado, Program Assistant
II
eregalad@cccco.edu
916.445.1165
Legal: Virginia Riegel, Staff Counsel
vriegel@cccco.edu
916.445.6272
Linda Michalowski
Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Services and Special Programs
and Director, Communications and Publications
Phone: (916) 445-0102
Fax: (916) 327-8232
lmichalo@cccco.edu
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