In the face of a teacher shortage, Pennsylvania continues to deny Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients the ability to become teachers in our public schools. Additionally, undocumented individuals who graduate from a Pennsylvania high school are ineligible for in-state tuition.

Senate Bill 393 and Senate Bill 394 would address both issues and allow Dreamers to teach in Pennsylvania schools and learn at our state-owned universities by making them eligible for in-state tuition and scholarships.

As of 2020, only 17 states permit DACA recipients to become certified teachers. Neighboring states New Jersey, New York and West Virginia have passed laws that certify DACA recipients as teachers, which means qualified, motivated DACA educators can easily move to a neighboring state and teach there.

As Pennsylvania faces a teacher shortage, poor teacher diversity and an exceptionally high need for English Second Language teachers, continuing to block DACA recipients from working in our classrooms makes no sense.

We are dealing with the same problem at our state-owned universities. Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education universities has seen a decade of declining enrollment numbers. At the same time, we’ve denied graduates of Pennsylvania high schools the ability to apply for scholarships and receive in-state tuition. Again, these students, that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has invested in, are looking to other states that will allow them access to scholarships for their post-secondary education.

These bills and their house companions support DACA recipients and undocumented Pennsylvanians while providing long-term benefits to our public schools, workforce and economy.