Senate passes Hope/Dream Act

OLYMPIA — A bipartisan Senate easily approved extending the state’s college need grants to students who graduate from Washington high schools and don’t currently qualify because they are not legal residents of the country. Called the Dream Act by Democrats and the Real Hope by Republicans, SB 6523 was unveiled with fanfare Thursday and pushed to the floor Friday immediately after its introduction and without a committee hearing. It adds $5 million to the state need grant and opens the aid to students who have been in the state at least three years and came to the country illegally with their parents but would otherwise be eligible for the aid. The Senate measure is nearly identical to House Bill 1817, which passed out of the House on a bipartisan vote on the first day of the legislative session earlier this month. The measure expands state financial aid for college students in the country without legal status. The House version didn’t identify a funding source for the measure, but the Senate proposal allocates $5 million through June 30, 2015, from the state’s general fund to pay for the financial aid payments under the state need-grant program. “The key to a good future is a good education” Sen. Barbara Bailey, the bill’s prime sponsor, said. But Sen. Curtis King said that despite the bill’s good intentions, it won’t solve the problem with long waiting lines for college aid. There are already some 32,000 students who qualify for state need grants but can’t get them. “It may help a few of them but it’s not going to help all of them,” he said. A bipartisan coalition beat back one attempt by conservative Republicans to narrow the scope of the bill, and passed it without changes on a 35-10 vote. Among Spokane-area legislators, Sens. Andy Billig and Mark Schoesler voted yes, Sens. Brian Dansel and Mike Padden voted no, and Sen. Mike Baumgartner was absent. Gov. Jay Inslee, who was in the Senate wings after the vote, said it was “a clear delight” that the measure passed. “What is real hope is a real Washington kid getting a real college education,” he said. “Any way that gets done is great. And it is going to get done.” If the bill is passed by the House and signed into law, Washington would become the fifth state in the country to approve state financial aid for college students illegally in the country. California, Texas, New Mexico and Illinois have passed similar legislation. The Senate also approved, on a unanimous vote Friday, a measure that allows students who are National Guard members or on active military duty, as well as their spouses and children, to pay in-state resident tuition rates. That measure also heads to the House for consideration.