For Immediate Release
January 30,2023
Contact: Chantal Fuller, Communications Director
202-355-8431
cfuller@dccouncil.gov

Councilmember Christina Henderson introduces legislation to increase funding and accessibility to higher education for DC students without citizenship

Washington, DC – Today, Councilmember Henderson re-introduced the DC Advancing College Hopes for Immigrants’ Education and Vocational Enrichment Scholarship (DC ACHIEVES) Establishment Act of 2023. This legislation would create a fund for costs associated with higher education solely available to undocumented high school graduates in the District. We must be intentional about investing in all of our young people so that they can use their skillsets to positively contribute to DC’s local economy.

“Higher education is often priced as if it were a luxury good. This legislation would financially support immigrant families and their children, opening a door that is too often closed to those without citizenship,” commented Councilmember Henderson. “The DC ACHIEVES program would be the first of its kind for our students, providing tuition and non-tuition funds specifically for undocumented District high school graduates. No student should be denied the opportunity to pursue postsecondary education.”

The DC ACHIEVES Establishment Act of 2023 requires that the Mayor establish a non-lapsing fund supporting the DC ACHIEVES program. The program will provide grants for tuition and non-tuition expenses not covered by other non-loan assistance forDistrict students without lawful status in the United States. Eligible participants must graduate from a District school, have attended school in the District for at least grades 9-12, be enrolled in an institution of higher education on at least a half-time basis, be 24 years old or younger, and be from a family with an annual household taxable income of no more than 200% of the median family income.

In 2014, the Council unanimously passed the DC Promise Establishment Act, which would have provided up to $37,500 over five years in tuition and non-tuition assistance to all District students who met income and residency criteria. However, this program, for which undocumented students were eligible, was left unfunded due to fear of backlash from federal lawmakers who had consistently delivered federal funds for the DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DC TAG) program. While the TAG program provides financial resources for most District students, undocumented students are ineligible. Undocumented students who achieve success in high school and work to pursue postsecondary education should no longer be denied the opportunity to continue their educational pursuits. I look forward to supporting undocumented students fulfill their goals of higher education. 

The DC Advancing College Hopes for Immigrants’ Education and Vocational Enrichment Scholarship (DC ACHIEVES) Establishment Act of 2023 was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Brianne K. Nadeau, Charles Allen, Trayon White, Sr., Zachary Parker, Janeese Lewis George, and Kenyan R. McDuffie.

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