Students living here illegally would be eligible for Washington state aid under new bill

Aiming to send a message to Congress, the state Senate has passed a bill that would allow students who came to this country illegally as children to get state money to help pay for college.

The bill would make students who have been here for at least three years before earning a state high-school diploma eligible for College Bound, a scholarship program for low-income Washington students.

The bill passed 38-11 Wednesday, with all Senate Democrats and about half of Republicans in favor. A similar bill in the House has also garnered bipartisan support.

Its sponsor, state Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle, called it an important bill symbolically, at a time when the fate of the nation’s Dreamers — children brought to this country illegally as children — dominate the national debate on immigration.

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/undocumented-students-would-be-eligible-for-state-aid-under-new-bill/