State Sued Over Policy on Tuition

California owes 60,000 out-of state college students hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds and damages for charging them full tuition to enroll here, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The suit, filed in Yolo County Superior Court, asserts that state lawmakers and education officials violated federal law by charging the out-of-state students more than what was charged undocumented students from other countries.

The undocumented students pay the lower, subsidized amount set for state residents, the suit says.

It was filed on behalf of students from 19 states, including a large number attending UC Davis, who claim the state illegally overrode a 1996 federal law mandating that tuition rates treat nonresidents from other states and countries equally.

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The complaint names as defendants the governing bodies of UC, California State University and state community college systems.

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