My Turn: Squandering DACA talent is not a brand Arizona wants

Last week, the Arizona Court of Appeals overturned in-state tuition for “dreamers.”

This decision impacts 240 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students at state universities and more than 2,000 DACA students in Maricopa Community Colleges, though the total number of students affected is expected to be greater statewide.

If the state Supreme Court upholds the decision, this will be a setback for the state. Arizona needs an educated population to be competitive with other states in attracting new economic development.

The Arizona Board of Regents recognized how important educating all students is when it voted to continue offering in-state tuition to DACA students until the appeals are settled. I applaud their courage and wisdom. This is why:

We offer scholarships for DACA students

The Arizona Community Foundation is the largest independent provider of scholarships in the state, managing nearly 200 scholarship funds established by thoughtful Arizona citizens. These citizens established funds to help remove barriers for thousands of Arizona students interested in completing a college degree.

Our scholarship funds support a diverse group of Arizona students working hard to better themselves and the Arizona economy by obtaining a college degree. A good number of these scholarship recipients are DACA students.

DIAZ:Our leaders can choose to stop punishing dreamers. Why don't they?

The DACA students we support have been living in Arizona and attending Arizona schools for most of their lives, studying to become college ready, working part time and paying Arizona taxes and staying out of trouble. They understand a college degree will lead them to higher paying jobs, enable them to buy homes, pay taxes and make Arizona more attractive to employers.

Why wouldn’t this talent be developed to its fullest extent?

We can't fill the gap these increases create

Since the appeals court announced its decision, many Arizona leaders, recognizing but not admitting how counterproductive this decision is in developing talent in our state, exclaimed confidently that “private” interests would pick up the additional cost. As one of the largest private interests, I wish they would have asked.

The decision to make DACA students ineligible for in-state tuition is disastrous. DACA students can expect to see tuition increases of 150 percent per student at state universities and nearly 300 percent on average at community colleges across the state.

ROBB:These 2 words will determine whether dreamers can pay less

We can’t make up the difference in the financial gap created by this decision and the scholarships we award will have a much smaller impact on the affordability for students eligible to receive these scholarships.

Basically, this decision will shut out hundreds of qualified students and eliminate college as an option. Is squandering of talent something we Arizonans want?

DACA or not, talent deserves a chance

When Gov. Doug Ducey took office, he pledged to improve “Arizona’s brand.” He eloquently argued that ill-conceived decisions of the past had hurt the state’s national standing, hampered economic growth and limited opportunities for Arizona citizens. But you earn the brand you have based on the actions taken.

Is squandering talent the brand we want? Is there an upside to this decision that benefits our state? No one has articulated such — as there is no upside for Arizona.

I will hope for the best from the Supreme Court. But we need to do more than hope. Gov. Ducey and the Board of Regents should commit themselves to a long-term solution that protects DACA students in universities and community colleges and assures them in-state tuition regardless of the decision the court makes.

Please stand up for ALL college-ready students who have lived in Arizona most of their lives. Arizona DACA students deserve to be treated fairly and equitably in the best interests of the state.

Isn’t this the Arizona we want?

Steve Seleznow is the president and CEO of Arizona Community Foundation. Email him at sseleznow@azfoundation.org.