The DREAM ACT was approved in Maryland to cushion immigrant students since in most cases they lack equal education opportunities compared to legal residents in the State. It is often the case that stately funded colleges and universities charge lower tuition fees compared to private institutions. This arises from subsidies provided by the State. Through subsidization, millions of tax dollars are devoted to cater for students` education through the provision of instate or discount tuition rates (Donovan, Mooney, Osborn & Smith, 2015). The qualifications for such discounts are, nevertheless, pegged on certain requirements such as whether the applicant pays taxes and owns property within the state. Despite performing well in school and since the parents of immigrant children lack substantial “proof that they qualify for instate tuition”, they end up missing out on such education opportunities (Donovan et al., 2015). The state of Maryland, therefore, set up the DREAM ACT to ensure that immigrant students do not miss out on discounted education rates due to their undocumented status.
The Act requires a student to meet certain requirements such as: Attending a Maryland high school for a duration of not less than three years beginning 2005-2006, Graduating from a high school within the state or having attained a GED no earlier than 2007-2008, ensuring that they have registered at a Maryland community college within a duration of four years after graduating from high school and a signed affidavit with a vow to become a permanent Maryland resident (Montgomery College, 2012). The ACT is meant to substantially improve the lives of Maryland immigrants. Additional requirements involve proof that the parents of immigrant students have filed income taxes for a minimum of three years (Donovan et al., 2015). Due to the establishment of the Maryland DREAM ACT, other states are under pressure to come up with similar policies. For example, eleven states within the United States such as, Illinois, Texas and California have already established a version similar to the DREAM ACT (Donovan et al., 2015). Despite this, the state budgets for some of the states is constricted and, hence, educational aspirations pertaining to the DREAM ACT are likely not to be established.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
References
Montgomery College. (2012, Dec 13). The Maryland Dream Act and You. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM2LYjvcCY0&feature=youtu.be
Donovan, T., Mooney, C. Z., Osborn, T., & Smith, D. A. (2015). State and local politics: Institutions and reform . Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth.
