Florida bill could stop aid to some foreign students

A Florida House of Representatives subcommittee narrowly approved a bill last Monday which, if passed, would bar college students coming from six foreign countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism from receiving any form of state financial aid.

Students from countries that the United States Department of State has listed as terrorist or terrorist supporters -- including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea and Sudan -- would be affected. Cuba is on the list of nations that support terror but was not included among the nations whose students would be excluded.

The bill was originally proposed by Republican state Representative Dick Kravitz. Kravitz, who could not be reached for comment Monday or yesterday, told The Miami Herald last week that international students educated in the United States could potentially conspire with their governments to aid terrorism.

As a result, he said, these students are undeserving of state financial assistance, though they will still be eligible to attend Florida colleges and universities.

In order to be enacted as legislation, the bill must be passed by the state House and the Senate and be signed by the governor. If approved, it would go into effect in July 2003.

Democratic state Representative Robert Mellow said that no similar bill is being considered in Pennsylvania at this time and said it is "not something I would ever support."

"We're supposed to be the land of the free," Mellow said. "It's a matter of treating everyone equally."

Even if such legislation were to be enacted by the state, it would have no effect on Penn since it is a private university, said University spokeswoman Lori Doyle.

According to a summary analysis of bill HB31 released by the Florida House, the Department of Education reported that $308,717 from the state was awarded to 822 such foreign students at Florida public universities and community colleges during Fiscal Year 2001-2002. All 822 students are classified as nonresident aliens who are in the United States on a temporary basis.

The funds currently spent on needy students from these countries "would be redirected to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program" beginning in Fiscal Year 2003-2004, according to the Fiscal Analysis and Economic Impact Statement regarding the bill. The Bright Futures Program is an umbrella program for state scholarships awarded to academically talented high school students.

If passed, the effects of this bill on individual colleges and universities throughout the state would vary.

According to the bill's analysis, "constitutional or legal issues, if any, relating to this bill will be reviewed by the staff of a subsequent committee of reference."

Numerous people, including students, politicians and higher education administrators, have questioned whether the bill is in fact discriminatory.

Penn Law School Professor Kermit Roosevelt criticized the bill, saying that "discrimination against aliens... is constitutionally very suspicious when it is done by the state."

"It looks as though the state is maybe trespassing into the realm of foreign relations, [thereby] going beyond its permissible authority," he said.

However, Legal Studies Professor Georgette Poindexter said a state can legally discriminate based on a student's visa status.

Nonetheless, once a student has been awarded aid, there is "an interesting due process question," Poindexter said. "Once a benefit has been given, it cannot be taken away without a hearing," she said. But "if you give them a hearing, it can [then] be taken away."

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