In-State Tuition Bill Approved in Connecticut House, Now Moves to Senate

A bill that would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates has passed in the state House and now moves to the Senate.  

The legislation would allow students who have graduated from a Connecticut high school after attending for at least four years to be eligible for the state tuition rate at a public college or university.

A similar bill was vetoed by former Governor Jodi Rell in 2007. But this year, Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy says he'll sign the bill into law.

Malloy's support is embraced by undocumented students like Carolina Bortolleto.

"If the bill passes, it would mean that we'd finally be recognized as students of Connecticut which we are."

Bortoletto wouldn't benefit from the bill now since she already graduated from Western Connecticut State University. She says her family had to pay $20,000 a year for her and her twin sister to attend four years at WCSU. If the bill had been law before they enrolled, the Bortolettos would have saved $16,000 for the sisters' college education.

Connecticut's house vote came in the same week as the federal Dream Act was re-introduced in Congress. The bill would allow undocumented college students to apply for permanent legal status.