MHCC NAMED IN FEDERAL LAWSUIT
Mt. Hood Community College’s Board of Education is among the defendants named in a federal lawsuit challenging Oregon laws that allow certain non-citizen students to receive in-state tuition and state financial aid. In late August, the United States Department of Justice filed lawsuits against four states: Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon.
The Oregon lawsuit names numerous public colleges and universities across the state, including Portland State University, Portland Community College and MHCC.
At the time the Oregon lawsuit was filed, the DOJ had filed 21 lawsuits challenging similar tuition policies nationwide.
Since then, that number has grown to 26. As of Oct. 1, the DOJ says it has obtained favorable court orders in six cases: Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois and Kansas, which according to the DOJ have resulted in “…favorable orders permanently enjoining and declaring unconstitutional analogous laws that gave reduced tuition to illegal aliens, including an order from the Fifth Circuit.”
The DOJ alleges that Oregon’s Tuition Equity Act, passed in 2013, conflicts with federal law and is therefore unconstitutional. In the DOJ Press Release about this subject, it pulls a direct quote by Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
The Tuition Equity Act passed the Oregon Legislature in 2013 with bipartisan support. The Equity Act has two key parts to it. According to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), which is the state commission that coordinates funding and policy across Oregon’s public and private postsecondary education institutions, the first part of the act covers those who are noncitizens of the United States; however, there is more to the act than just that. The Equity Act also touches up on tuition for members of the armed forces that do not reside in the state of Oregon. “The program allows otherwise eligible noncitizens to pay in-state tuition when citizenship status is their only obstacle to doing so…” That is the goal of the Equity Act.
Under Oregon law, eligible noncitizen students must have earned a high school diploma or equivalent in Oregon, attended an Oregon elementary, middle or high school for the three years immediately prior to completing high school, and attended a U.S. school for the five years immediately prior to graduation. These students must also demonstrate an intent to become a lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen. Veterans may qualify under similar education and attendance requirements if they served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received an honorable or general discharge.
Despite the lawsuit, students currently receiving benefits under Oregon’s tuition equity programs will not see immediate changes, according to HECC.
The agency said legal cases such as this can take months or years and that “nothing changes until a court actually rules and any ruling takes effect.”
HECC has also been in touch with all of the named institutions. According to Endi Hartigan, the Communications Director for HECC, “In terms of communicating with institutions, when the lawsuit was announced, the HECC communicated to public institution presidents our expectation about working with Oregon DOJ on this matter.”
HECC has also been providing institutions with updates on their website page, you can find the website at this link:
Hartigan has also shared a comment made by Ben Cannon, the Executive Director for HECC Oregon needs the talents and skills of our young people, and the HECC is absolutely committed to equitable opportunity to higher education for all Oregon students. We have long encouraged Oregon students from all backgrounds to apply for the state grant support that is so important to help afford college and succeed in promising careers. Students building futures for themselves are an asset to our state, our economy, and our communities.”
At this time, the MHCC Board of Education is unable to give an official statement in regards to the lawsuit due to it being an active lawsuit and in litigation; however, Board Chair Andrew Speer was able to provide us with this statement: “What I can share is that the Board is being kept informed by college leadership regarding developments in the matter. The college is working through the appropriate processes and coordinating with relevant state and higher education partners. The Board has confidence that the college is managing the matter thoughtfully and responsibly and will continue to receive updates as appropriate.”
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