NJJP: Let's Make the NJ DREAM Act a Reality for More Students

Yesterday, with Assembly Budget Chair Gary Schaer, advocacy leaders and students by our side, New Jersey Policy Perspective released a groundbreaking report on the impact of New Jersey's new Tuition Equality Act, which made in-state tuition available to qualified undocumented students.

The law, also known as the NJ DREAM Act, was an essential step toward providing better educational opportunities for all students in the state. But a careful review of enrollment numbers by our Policy Analyst Erika Nava found that many are still unable to pursue this opportunity, largely due to lack of financial assistance.

Over a seven-month period, Nava surveyed each of New Jersey's 11 public colleges and universities on their Tuition Equality implementation and enrollment numbers. The new NJPP report is now the only public source of data on how students have benefited from the law. Some key findings include:

• Overall, 251 new students benefited from the Tuition Equality Act in 2014.
• New student enrollment increased by 666 percent (from 29 to 222) from the Spring to Fall 2014 semesters - an unsurprising increase, since the law was enacted on December 20, 2013, with only days left before the Spring semester began.
• In New Jersey the average undocumented family's income is $39,100 per year, about $75,000 less than the average family income of all New Jerseyans - making the prospect of paying even $13,000 a year for in-state tuition difficult at best.
• Undocumented students are more likely than their peers to take breaks from school to work full-time or handle family responsibilities, and are less likely than their peers to get assistance from their parents. At the same time they are more frequently expected to contribute to their family's income.
• The cost of extending state financial aid to these students would be minimal, and could easily be done in a way that expanded opportunities for all low-income students at once.

These and other findings in the NJPP report point to this conclusion: The Tuition Equality Act was not enough to foster educational and economic opportunity for all New Jerseyans. New Jersey must also allow undocumented students to access state financial aid - a measure included in the original Tuition Equality Act but vetoed by the governor.


Read the full report here, and check out great coverage on NJTV and in the Star-Ledger.