The state's largest business lobbying organization is joining advocates in urging Arkansas lawmakers to approve extending cheaper in-state tuition rates to some students who came to the country illegally.
The head of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas on Wednesday announced his group is backing the proposal by Democratic Senator Joyce Elliott to grant in-state tuition rates anyone who has attended an Arkansas high school for at least three years and has an Arkansas high school diploma or general education diploma in the state.
Chamber President Randy Zook, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Chancellor Joel Anderson and other advocates briefed the Senate on Elliott's proposal during an hour-long "committee of the whole" meeting. Elliott's proposal is pending before a Senate committee.