Gavin Newsom signs law to make college cheaper for some students living in Mexico

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill that will make California college costs cheaper for hundreds of Mexican students who cross the border daily.

Assembly Bill 91, authored by Assemblyman David Alvarez, D-San Diego, will create a pilot program to allow some students living in Mexico to pay in-state tuition at one of the seven community colleges in San Diego and Imperial Valley counties. Students must live within 45 miles of the California border.

This year, the average California community college tuition is $1,246 for in-state students and $6,603 for out-of-state students.

Participating community colleges will include Cuyamaca, Grossmont, Imperial Valley, MiraCosta, Palomar, San Diego City, San Diego Mesa, San Diego Miramar and Southwestern. Each campus is limited to 150 participants.

Students will have to be U.S. or Mexican citizens with a visa. Alavrez had previously told The Bee that increased educational access would create new job opportunities for California’s border communities.

Roughly 7,000 students cross the San Diego-Tijuana border every day.

The legislation is modeled after an agreement in the Lake Tahoe Community College District for students living near the Nevada border. Public universities in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona have similar programs for students residing in Mexico.

The law is estimated to cost in the “low millions of dollars” each year, with the exact amount depending on the number of students enrolled, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. There will also be a one-time cost of approximately $239,000 for the eight community colleges and five districts to adopt rules and regulations regarding the bill’s provisions.

The legislation is contingent on the California Community College’s board of governors entering an agreement with a community college in Mexico that provides similar benefits to California students.

AB 91 will sunset on Jan. 1, 2029.