Call or email the leadership and your legislator to ask them to bring up HB 5031 An Act Equalizing Access to Student Generated Financial Aid for a vote next week.
Speaker of the House: Representative Joe Aresimowicz 860-240-8500
Senate President Pro Tempore: Senator Martin Looney 860-240-8600, 860-240-0375,
Please contact your state senators and representatives today to urge them to support HB 5031. Find your legislators at Connecticut General Assembly .
Background information: HB 5031, An Act Equalizing Access to Student Generated Financial Aid would provide undocumented students, who are enrolled in college in Connecticut, equal access to student-generated institutional financial aid to help pay for the cost of attendance.
This is the 5th year that undocumented college students are advocating for this bill that would grant them access to this critical financial aid. Last year, neither the Senate nor the House raised the bill for a vote. This year needs to be different, and we are counting on your advocacy to make this happen!
Student-generated institutional aid is a pool of money that all students pay into through a portion of their tuition payments. Currently, undocumented students do not have access to receiving financial aid from that pool.
In her testimony in support of this bill, CT Students for a Dream’s #Afford2Dream Campaign Manager Camila Bortolleto stated, “Equalizing this aid to immigrant students is a matter of fairness. Immigrant youth contribute to the system but are not allowed access to the aid they help fund. Students have been fighting for four years for equal access. This year, Connecticut has an opportunity to stand up in support of our immigrant students. We are asking for equality, not special treatment.” Providing access to this financial aid would in turn increase access to higher education, as more students could better afford college.
Also consider taking part in the “Our Dreams Can’t Wait – Week of Action” next week, organized by CT Students for a Dream: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAAYiDg3MjkuVfFDaX2I8h4kfl0YPxn96JBH-3PO5MGdGAmw/viewform
Or consider signing the following online petition sponsored by CT Students for a Dream: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/demand-equal-access-to-higher-education-for-undocumented-students
Read press coverage of this issue, and current efforts to protect Dreamers: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-immigration-youth-daca-rally-20180305-story.html
Thank you for standing in solidarity with young immigrants in our state.
