Advocates for Florida’s immigrants are asking the state to stop the process of banning undocumented students from attending state colleges and taking the General Educational Development test.
A collection of groups on Monday told reporters the proposed rules by the Florida Department of Education are “harmful,” arguing the move would affect the state’s economy and hurt students currently enrolled in school.
“There are human costs to these rules,” said Norin Dollard, a senior policy analyst with the Florida Policy Institute.
Earlier this month the DOE proposed a rule that would require every board of trustees in the Florida College System to “ensure that all students admitted to the Florida College System institution are citizens of the United States or lawfully present in the United States.”
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Students would have to “provide clear and convincing documentation that he or she is a citizen of the United States or lawfully present in the United States,” before admission, and the documentation "must be credible, precise, and compelling.”
Soon after, the department gave notice of another rule change that would ban undocumented immigrants from adult general education programs in high schools and state colleges. Adult general education programs prepare those taking the GED exam for the equivalency of a high school diploma.
The rules would apply only to the state’s K-12 schools that have adult general education programs and schools in the state college system, not to its 12 state universities.
The department didn’t immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment Monday.
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“These are our kids, and they are our future,” said Yareliz Mendez-Zamora with the American Friends Service Committee. “We are asking that the Florida Department of Education do the right thing and not pass these rules.”
The State Board of Education will discuss the rules at its next meeting on May 14 at Miami-Dade College.
According to the landmark 1982 Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, the state cannot prevent undocumented children from attending public school without “showing that it furthers some substantial state interest.”
The proposed rules, however, could affect students under 18, as the GED exam can be taken by 16- and 17-year-olds, and high school students in Florida have opportunities for dual enrollment classes within the state college system.
Republican lawmakers have attempted several times to restrict the ability of undocumented immigrants and immigrants lawfully present in the United States from enrolling in higher education institutions in Florida.
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This year, legislators filed bills to prohibit all higher education institutions from admitting any noncitizen who wasn’t legally present in the country and to limit the number of enrolled students who are citizens of foreign countries and who are not permanent U.S. residents.
But those measures barely moved through the process and died in committee during the 2026 session.
“Gov. Ron DeSantis is used to getting his way. Like a child, what he is doing is throwing a temper tantrum and trying to get his way in any way that he can,” Mendez-Zamora said.
