Contact: Erika Martinez
(505)986-4819
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2014
College Fees and Tuition Now Waived for Foster Children in New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM – Today Governor Susana Martinez signed Senate Bill 206, Foster Care System Student Tuition Waiver, sponsored by Senator George Munoz (D-4-Cibola, McKinley & San Juan). The legislation signs into state law that college tuition and fees be waived for certain children who have been in the foster care of the state or in the legal custody of a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Human Services.
“This piece of legislation is very important to the people of New Mexico. Foster children need to know they are remembered, and not forgotten. They deserve every opportunity that other children have and should not suffer the consequences of lacking the financial means to pursue their higher education should they desire to do so,” said Sen. Munoz. “The credit should be given to those from the New Mexico Child Advocacy Networks (NMCAN), who helped me get this bill through the legislature. Their efforts and their will to advocate for the needs of these kids are what drives important issues like these to the forefront of our state’s government.”
Krystal Goolsby, a Youth Advocate Fellow with NMCAN said she was thankful to Sen. Munoz for his work. “Thanks to Senator Munoz, New Mexico has adopted one of the best tuition waiver programs in the nation. We had the opportunity to be heard in the legislative process, and change our own lives and the lives of young people for generations to come,” she said.
The bill states that the Higher Education Department will work with the entities involved to inform students of the opportunities this bill offers.
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