Post by Okwes on Jul 24, 2007 10:48:49 GMT -5
Free Mich. American Indian tuition should continue, official says
Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News
LANSING -- A 30-year-old state program that pays public college tuition
for American Indians should continue despite the passage of a state
amendment that outlaws some forms of affirmative action, according to
the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
Proposal 2, approved by 58 percent of Michigan voters in November, bans
preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex and ethnicity in public
education and government hiring and contracting.
"Proposal 2 should not affect this act," George Wirth, counsel for the
Michigan Department of Civil Rights, told members of the House
appropriations subcommittee on higher education Tuesday.
The Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver program shouldn't be in violation
because the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized membership of an Indian
tribe as a unique political status rather than a racial classification,
Wirth said in testimony on the impact of Proposal 2 on financial aid
programs.
Attorney General Mike Cox has yet to determine whether the program is
still legal.
"It's a complicated enough issue that we'd wait for a request from a
legislator (to investigate) before we weigh in," said attorney general
spokesman Rusty Hills.
However, Allie Greenleaf Maldonado, assistant general counsel for the
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, is confident the federal law
favors the continuation of the program. She attended University of
Michigan Law School under the program. "I would not have had the
opportunity to serve the community without the Indian Tuition Waiver
program in Michigan," Maldonado said.
Enacted in 1976, the program waives tuition at any public university and
community college for Michigan students who are at least one-quarter
North American Indian as certified by the person's tribe.
As more American Indian students enroll and tuition costs have risen,
the state's contribution to the universities has been far less than the
cost of the actual tuition waivers -- $2.4 million vs. $6 million in
2005, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis. Last year, 1,140
students received tuition waivers to attend 15 state universities.
The tuition waiver program is one statute the Michigan Department of
Civil Rights investigated at the request of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who
wanted a report on how Prop 2 would impact state government and
diversity efforts. The report, released a week ago, found eight of the
45 state statutes reviewed would likely need tweaking in light of
Proposal 2.
While the department found that Indian Tuition Waiver program should not
be affected, it said that programs under the King-Chavez-Parks state
scholarships would need broadening, Civil Rights Director Linda Parker
said.
Now it's up to the governor and other state leaders to examine the
report's recommendations and take actions necessary to bring Michigan
into compliance with Proposal 2.