FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 15, 2007

HACU and Latino Community Again Disappointed by the Governor’s Veto of

the California Dream Act AB 540; Students’ Dream of a College Education Dashed

SACRAMENTO, CA - The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) expressed profound disappointment at Governor Schwarzenegger’s last-minute veto of Senator Cedillo’s California Dream Act (SB 1). SB 1 would have allowed AB 540 students the opportunity to compete for financial aid programs as permitted by federal law, including access to Board of Governor waivers at the community colleges but excluding the competitive Cal Grants. This year’s bill was amended to address issues raised in Governor Schwarzenegger’s veto message last year. This bill would have had no budget impact and no U.S. Citizen or permanent resident would have been displaced by the passage of this bill.

“Senator Cedillo took steps to address the Governor’s concerns by limiting the number of grants for which AB 540 students could compete. We are disappointed that the Governor chose not to display leadership in the immigration debate by providing these hard-working students with the possibility of making college a reality,” said Antonio Flores, President and CEO of HACU.

“HACU will continue to advocate for the DREAM Act at both the federal and state levels during future legislative sessions. HACU expects that Congress and Governor Schwarzenegger will do the right thing by talented youth who are college bound,” added Dr. Flores.

Currently, HACU has over 98 member colleges and universities in the state of California and in 2005 opened a regional office in Sacramento to handle Hispanic higher education legislative and policy issues in the western region of the U.S.

HACU represents more than 450 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Portugal and Spain. Although its member institutions in the U. S. represent less than 10% of all higher education institutions nationwide, together they are home to more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students. HACU is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).

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