It's a long shot, but state Democratic lawmakers are nonetheless pushing through legislation that would allow certain undocumented students to attend state institutions of higher education as residents, thereby qualifying them for a new level of in-state tuition (Associated Press [2]). The latest incarnation of the measure, known as ASSET (Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow), cleared the state Senate yesterday thanks to the chamber's united Democratic membership, which had seen splits [3] in previous years (Education News Colorado [4]).

The difference in this year's bill is that it doesn't permit the undocumented students to qualify for the state's College Opportunity Fund subsidy. A comparison of tuition for one year of undergraduate study at the University of Colorado at Boulder would look something like this: in-state, $8,508; out-of-state, $28,619; in-state undocumented immigrant, $10,368 (Post [5]).

Emotions have run high around the issue, with Denver mayoral candidate Chris Romer, who sponsored a similar measure during his time in the state Senate, pointing to "the human hate on this subject" before issuing a "strong endorsement" of the bill (Colorado Independent [6], with video). But Republican lawmakers remain staunchly opposed (Pueblo Chieftain [7]) and are expected to kill the bill on its arrival to the GOP-majority state House.