Dive Brief:

• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has pulled the Dream Act and a proposal for an education tax credit from his budget ahead of an April 1 deadline.
• The New York Times reports Cuomo had added both issues to the budget—the first a favorite of Democrats and the second supported by Republicans—in an attempt to avoid addressing them in standalone votes.
• Republicans in the state senate have consistently doomed the Dream Act, which would give undocumented high school grads access to state financial aid for college, and Democrats have not gotten behind the tax credit, according to the article.

Dive Insight:

Undocumented students have access to free public education from elementary and secondary schools that don’t have any reason to ask for their social security numbers. Many colleges and universities allow undocumented students to receive in-state tuition without proof of legal residency but there’s no getting around their status when it comes to financial aid.

Five states have passed versions of the Dream Act, giving bright and driven young people easier access to higher education. The New York Times quotes one Long Island Republican, however, arguing middle-class taxpayers shouldn’t have to cover scholarships for undocumented immigrants while struggling to cover their own children’s tuition costs. While the act won’t make it into this year’s budget, the discussion certainly won’t end here.