Recently, an attorney compiling names of people willing to file a class-action lawsuit against the University System of Maryland requested permission to contact students who applied for in-state status but were denied on grounds which a Maryland court ruled unfair in February.
We encourage any students who were denied in-state status to vigorously pursue their cause in court. Though a Baltimore court has not yet determined whether those students can join a class-action law suit, lawyers are already collecting evidence.
On Feb. 23, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals declared the former system policy for determining in-state status was unconstitutional. The policy previously required that students prove a majority of their income came from a job or relative in the state. The system did not consider financial aid or loans.
The current system is confusing, complicated, and to many students seemed almost arbitrary. It was designed to ensure that students weren’t just living in the state to go to school, and planned to work in Maryland after graduating. To prove this students applying had to prove they paid state taxes, had a state driver’s license and rented or owned property in the state for at least a year.
The court ruled the system must consider such alternative forms of income and generally broaden the nine requirements – including taking religious and community activities into account. Regents agreed with the ruling and system officials said they would loosen the restrictions by their June meeting to make the process more just.
The tuition that comes with in-state status is not just pocket change. Many students who legitimately deserve this status were denied it under the system’s unconstitutional rules.
Applying for in-state status is a notoriously stressful process for the many students who must go through it. For many families, the difference between paying for out of state and in-state tuition is a huge one. The cost of higher education is already too high and, despite this year’s in-state tuition freeze, shows little sign of slowing down in the future, with a projected deficit on the horizon.
Anthony Conti, the Baltimore-based attorney fighting for the ability to file class-action suit, does not have permission to contact those students who were unfairly denied tuition yet. However, we encourage them to step forward if they feel their lives were adversely affected.
Students need only contact Conti to find talk about their potential case. He said a student’s chances improve if he or she has saved many documents from the university regarding their denial.
The state has taken a correct step in acknowledging the shortcomings of USM’s application process, but now it must go one step further and allow those affected the chance to receive some justice. We encourage people to stand up for themselves and fight for what they unfairly lost.
