The Florida Department of Education has introduced a new administrative rule requiring all students admitted to the state’s 28 public colleges to prove they are U.S. citizens or “lawfully present” in the country.
If enacted, the policy would effectively prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending these institutions.
Under the proposed guidelines, each board of trustees in the Florida College System would be responsible for ensuring that applicants provide “clear and convincing documentation” of their legal status. The proposal specifies that this evidence must be “credible, precise, and compelling.”
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The proposed changes also include a provision regarding campus conduct, granting colleges the discretion to “deny admission or enrollment to an applicant because of misconduct if determined to be in the best interest” of the institution.
While the rule would apply to the state’s 28 colleges, it does not currently extend to Florida’s 12 state universities. A formal hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 14 at Miami Dade College. The Department of Education has not yet commented on the specific implementation timeline.
The administrative move follows several legislative efforts by Republican lawmakers to curb non-citizen enrollment. Representative Jennifer Kincart-Johnson (R-Lakeland) previously sponsored a bill that included a 5 percent cap on non-resident undergraduate admissions, though the Senate removed that limit before the bill reached Governor Ron DeSantis.
Other legislative attempts included a bill by Senator Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach) to prohibit the admission of non-citizens without legal presence, and a proposal by Representative Berny Jacques (R-Seminole) to limit the percentage of foreign citizens and non-permanent residents allowed to enroll. Both measures failed to reach a final vote during the 2026 session.
“With these proposed rules, the Florida Department of Education is making a costly end-run around the Legislature, which refused to pass similar legislation during the 2026 regular session,” said Norín Dollard, senior policy analyst at Florida Policy Institute. “The cost of these proposals—both to the well-being of families and to college budgets—would be high.”
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Policy analysts estimate that the loss of tuition revenue from barring undocumented students could exceed $22 million across the system, with Miami Dade College seeing the most significant impact.
Advocates for immigrant students have expressed concern over the proposal’s impact on those who were brought to the U.S. as children.
“Let’s be clear: this policy punishes students for circumstances they did not choose,” said Yareliz Mendez-Zamora, Policy Coordinator with American Friends Service Committee. “These are Florida students. They grew up here, they studied here, and now the state is trying to shut the door on them.”
This proposal follows recent state actions to tighten regulations involving immigrant students. Florida previously repealed in-state tuition rates for approximately 6,500 students who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Additionally, a law signed last month mandates the expulsion of students who provide “material support” for groups designated as domestic terrorists if their actions disrupt the learning environment.
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