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Posted Feb 22, 2021, 11:21 am

Laura Gómez Arizona Mirror

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and the Arizona Board of Regents agreed to dismiss the remaining claim in a 2017 lawsuit over the tuition rates granted to some undocumented students.

In November, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected most of Brnovich’s claims in the lawsuit, but allowed his claim that ABOR illegally spent public funds when granting in-state tuition to some public university students who have no immigration status to be reconsidered in Maricopa County Superior Court.

In a Jan. 29 court document, Brnovich’s office told the court that he and the governing body for Arizona’s three public universities had agreed to dismiss that remaining claim.

The agreement puts an end to the lawsuit, ABOR President Larry Penley said in a Jan. 28 statement.

“On behalf of all Arizonans and future generations, the board remains steadfast in its commitment to ensure access to an affordable, quality higher education that remains within reach of Arizona families,” he said.

No public university students with no lawful immigration status currently benefit from in-state tuition rates in Arizona. Some students who benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program did receive in-state rates between May 7, 2015 and April 9, 2018, according to ABOR.

A proposal in the state Senate seeks to repeal a 2006 voter-approved law that prohibits people with no legal immigration status from accessing in-state tuition and financial aid.

Another proposal in the House, which Brnovich’s office supports, would give the state attorney general to sue over tuition, the Associated Press reported.

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