California will give some Mexican residents near the border in-state community college tuition

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a brand new legislation Friday to make low-income Mexican residents residing near the border eligible for in-state tuition charges at sure community schools.

The regulation applies to low-income Mexicans who are living inside of 45 miles (72 kilometers) of the California-Mexico border and wish to attend a collaborating community college in Southern California. It is a pilot program that will release subsequent 12 months and run till 2029.

Some other people trip ceaselessly between Mexico and California to paintings or discuss with circle of relatives. The legislation will help in making training extra out there for the ones residents and get ready them for jobs, Assemblymember David Alvarez, who authored the proposal, mentioned at a Senate Education Committee listening to in June.

“This pilot program can unlock a significant untapped resource to prepare a more diverse population among our workforce,” Alvarez said in a statement.

Mark Sanchez, president of Southwestern College in Chula Vista, a California city about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the border, said many students at the school split their time between the two countries.

“Without this pilot, we risk everything in terms of loss of talent,” he mentioned at the listening to.

The new law will require community college boards to submit a report to lawmakers by 2028 to show the attendance rate and demographics of students who received in-state tuition rates under the program.

A similar law passed in 2015 allows some Nevada residents living near the California border to attend Lake Tahoe Community College at in-state tuition rates.

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Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide carrier program that puts reporters in native newsrooms to record on undercovered problems. Follow Austin on X, the platform previously referred to as Twitter: @sophieadanna