February 6, 2025

Does Florida's immigrant tuition waiver cost $40 million?

Samantha Putterman writes:

"As Florida Republicans continue to fight about whose plan is best to help President Donald Trump on immigration, one group hangs in the balance: immigrants in the country illegally who attend Florida public colleges.

If signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has threatened to veto it — the Legislature’s immigration bill would revoke a 2014 law that lets immigrants in the country illegally who meet certain conditions pay in-state college tuition rates, which are typically much lower than out-of-state rates. The Legislature could override a DeSantis veto.

One supporter of eliminating the law, state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Brevard, said during a Jan. 28 special session the waiver encourages illegal immigration.

While listing reasons for eliminating the law, Fine, who cosponsored the immigration bill, said: 'Number one: it costs money. … We estimate $41 million dollars.'

...

The Florida Policy Institute [emphasis added], a center-left research organization, said in a Jan. 15 report that 'contrary to how some state lawmakers have recently framed the fiscal impact of these waivers,' allowing immigrants in the country illegally to access in-state tuition "has not cost the state money." Instead, the institute estimated that the waiver has 'generated millions in revenue for institutions experiencing drops in enrollment and financial strain.' Take the Florida College System, previously known as community colleges. About 4,500 students used the in-state tuition waiver at those schools during the 2023-24 academic year, bringing in about $14.7 million in tuition, according to Florida Policy Institute’s [emphasis added] calculation.

Enrollment at the 28-member college system remains 11% below prepandemic levels and education experts say it’s unlikely that enough new students would enroll to replace immigrants in the country illegally.

'There are no students ‘waiting in the wings’ to replace tuition paid by these students and the potential for colleges to lose out on this revenue is high,' the Florida Policy Institute said in its report.

The Florida Policy Institute [emphasis added] and Senate analysis arrived at their waiver value estimates in different ways. The Senate’s analysis appears to reflect the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition for students who received the waivers.

The Florida Policy Institute [emphasis added] estimated how much students receiving waivers paid in tuition by multiplying the number of students who received the waiver in the 2023-24 academic year by the average cost of in-state tuition. The organization estimated that about 6,500 immigrants in the country illegally used the waiver to attend Florida’s colleges and state universities, paying about $26.7 million in in-state tuition and fees.

'It is misleading to say the waivers ‘cost’ $40.6 million because in reality, if students are not offered this waiver, many will not attend school in Florida at all,' said Alexis Tsoukalas, a senior policy analyst at Florida Policy Institute [emphasis added] and author of the brief.

...

Fine’s statement has an element of truth in that if the waiver is eliminated, public colleges and universities could receive more money in tuition payments from immigrants in the country illegally if they still chose to enroll, or other students wanting to enroll in the institutions.

But education policy experts estimate that revoking the provision would likely cause colleges and universities to lose revenue. There likely aren’t enough students to enroll to make up for the loss of immigrants in the country illegally, who might not be able to afford tuition without the waiver. Many of Florida’s colleges already have enrollment numbers below pre-pandemic levels.

We rate this claim Mostly False."

Read more at politifact.com.

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