LOS ANGELES-The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union announced a settlement today with the State of California that will establish a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement system to ensure school districts do not unlawfully charge fees to students for educational activities.

The settlement, which requires court approval, is contingent on enactment of legislation that would empower students and parents to use the existing Williams Uniform Complaint Process to identify, and receive reimbursement for, illegal school fees and that would amend the annual independent audits of school districts to determine if schools collected illegal fees.

“This is a historic settlement that puts an end once and for all to the pay to learn system,” said Mark Rosenbaum, chief counsel of the ACLU/SC. “This agreement means all students have an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams irrespective of their families’ financial circumstances. The ACLU thanks Governor Schwarzenegger, Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss and the State Board of Education for facilitating a quick resolution of this case.”

Under the legislation, if auditors find a district charged illegal fees, the district would be required to fully reimburse parents or suffer a financial penalty. Furthermore, parents would be able to challenge illegal fees immediately through the complaint process that provides for local resolution within 30 working days.

“Charging students illegal fees discriminates against lower-income children and violates their constitutional right to a free education,” said Assembly member Ricardo Lara. “Families are unable to afford these fees and their children’s education suffers due to financial hardship.”

"The settlement reached today protects California students' right to a truly free public education," said Morrison & Foerster partner Dan Marmalefsky. "We are pleased that the State has acknowledged the unlawfulness of these fees and agreed to take steps to prevent future violations of this fundamental constitutional right."

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, followed an investigation by the ACLU/SC that uncovered a widespread practice among school districts of forcing students to purchase textbooks, workbooks, and assigned novels in order to matriculate in academic courses. School districts also charged lab fees for participation in science classes. The suit alleged that this discriminating practice against lower-income children creates an unfair system where only the wealthy are able to afford an education that is constitutionally supposed to be free to all regardless of economic status.

The California affiliates involved in the case are the ACLU affiliates in Southern California, Northern California, and San Diego and Imperial Counties. The law firm Morrison & Foerster is co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the suit.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act – more commonly known as the DREAM Act – is once again in the national spotlight. Introduced in 2001 and again in 2007, the DREAM Act provides a path to citizenship for undocumented students who complete two years of college or military service. It is a sensible, humane proposal that has long enjoyed bi-partisan support, but hasn’t quite passed into law despite the obvious enhancements it would provide to our economy and national security.
We bring you the voices of three California youth holding out for their DREAM.

“Maria”
Brought into the United States at age six, “Maria” has not veered from her goal to become a doctor, despite the extra obstacles faced due to her undocumented status.
I knew my dreams were extremely limited. I was not limited by my knowledge, ability to learn, money, or desire to get ahead, I was limited because I was missing a nine-digit number.
I prayed every day the DREAM Act could pass.
I don't possess a social security number, and there is no realistic way for me to earn one. I  knew college would be difficult. I had no one to ask for help or guidance because I was the first to travel this road.
I prayed every day the DREAM Act would pass.
Three jobs, sleepless nights, days without food, and many, many tears later, I did it. I was half way to my dream of being an emergency room surgeon. I have never wanted anything handed to me. I have demonstrated that I can, and will, earn what I want. The DREAM Act would give me an opportunity, not a hand out. An opportunity to save a life as a doctor, prove to my future children that this is the land of opportunity. The DREAM Act may give a student the ambition to pursue a bachelor’s degree. It may give a mother the opportunity to go to college and inspire her children.
The DREAM Act would set me free.
Free to be great, to make my community great, and make this country even greater. The day I graduated and walked across the stage was the proudest moment of my life.  This will only be surpassed by the day I graduate from medical school and my name is followed by an "MD." Allow me the opportunity to be great. I may be the surgeon that saves your life one day.
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Neidi Dominguez and Carlos Amador
 
Neidi Dominguez is a member of DREAM Team Los Angeles. She is a graduate with honors from University of California, Santa Cruz with a major in Community Studies. She aspires to be an attorney in the near future and advocate for immigrant workers in this country. Carlos Amador is a member of DREAM Team Los Angeles. He is currently a graduate student of social work at the University of California, Los Angeles. He hopes to work organizing with communities of color and immigrant communities.
This has been close to a decade of waiting, of dealing with disillusionment of the democratic and political process. We constantly dwell on what it means to be undocumented in the United States, attending school and being taught that “all men are created equal” and protected by the constitution.  We wonder if Dreamers are included in that statement? We all sang the pledge of allegiance, know U.S. history and politics, and still feel invisible and excluded. Our undocumented status represents the broken immigration system that is a relic of the 1950s.
For us, the struggle for the DREAM Act is very much part of our young lives. Our lives have been shaped by the ineffectiveness of our Congress. Our lives have taken many pauses, and until we pass the DREAM Act will continue to be on hold. We work hard to continue our education facing all odds; we contribute to this society and economy and we are still not recognized as Americans. If the legislative and executive branches of the country fail to recognize our contributions to the country, and the countless skills and possibilities of prosperity we represent, then we must question what it means to be “equal” in the United States.
We have done everything possible to push for the DREAM Act in 2010. We have risked judgments, arrests and even deportations to highlight the urgency to take action.  We have traveled to Arizona and across the nation. We have fasted for days, even when our own families plead for us not to. Our organizing and leadership have brought us to this very moment and we truly have hope that Congress will make the right decision and pass the DREAM Act. As we make phone calls to urge our senators and representatives to vote "yes" on the DREAM Act, we also dream of finally being recognized in this nation. It feels like our dreams can finally become realities.
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For even more information,  download a pdf report analyzing the DREAM Act’s real-world impact.
"The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave." -- Thomas Jefferson

 

On a cold October morning, hundreds of high school students from the Central Valley crowded into the Fresno Court of Appeals for "outreach day," an event designed to increase public understanding of the court system. For many of them this wasn't just another field trip. That morning, the California Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments for Martinez v. UC Regents, an effort by anti-immigrant forces to deny undocumented youth access to in-state college tuition rates. I was there with members of the Orange County DREAM Team, sitting behind the defense table in full view of all nine justices, anxiously watching the nation's all-too virulent immigration battle try to claim a new beachhead, that of college campuses.Martinez was gunning for a law that has stood untouched since 2001. Assembly Bill 540 allows students who have attended a California high school for at least three years and graduated from a California high school, or later earned a GED, to pay the same college tuition rate as residents, regardless of immigration status. The anti-immigration group behind Martinez brought suit on behalf of citizens who pay a higher tuition rate because they do not satisfy AB 540’s requirements.

Among the Orange County DREAM Team members with me that day was Vanessa Castillo, an organizer and ally for the cause who understood exactly what was at stake.

"Because I know the stories of my friends and many other students I have met along the way, I know an education would not have been in reach without AB 540," she said. "Undocumented students already struggle to pay in state tuition without any institutional aid. An end to AB 540, would have been an even bigger burden for students already enrolled in colleges, and a bigger barrier for those students who would just be applying to schools for the first time."

Vanessa said she felt both confidence and frustration as the proceeding unfolded. Confidence in the strength of the arguments provided by the defenders of AB 540, but frustration with the misguided information presented by opposing counsel.

"People sitting in the audience were listening to information that was incorrect," she said. Most of the students who have benefited from AB 540 are citizens or lawful permanent residents. It's estimated that about 25,000 undocumented students who reside in California attend the colleges and universities.

The justices peppered both sides with questions during oral arguments, giving neither much of an opportunity to read from prepared remarks. As an attorney I'm used to seeing this process unfold, but for Vanessa, who hopes to begin studying for a master's degree in social work at USC, this was a new world.

"To be sitting directly in front of the justices was an amazing feeling," she said. "I was listening first hand on how they disentangled each argument into what is our constitutional law, seeing how they questioned arguments and how they explained why each argument was fair and unfair."

In the end, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled AB 540 constitutional. It was the right decision. For almost a decade this law has helped ensure that higher education is a viable option for the thousands of undocumented students that graduate from our high schools every year.  Valedictorians, community leaders, future doctors, teachers and scientists will continue to have the opportunity to benefit from in-state tuition in these difficult economic times.

California still has it in it to be the golden state.

Tomorrow we’ll hear from three young people describing their attempts to pursue their DREAM.