Adriana Herrera leads a press conference outside the Tennessee Capitol after lobbying for "tuition equality" legislation. Credit: Chas Sisk / WPLN
Dozens of Nashville-area high school students took time off from their Spring Break to lobby state lawmakers about college tuition.
They hoped to build support for a bill that would grant in-state tuition to undocumented students.
The group included Adriana Herrera, a senior at Overton High School who was brought to the U.S. as a child. Her father was deported four years ago, leaving her mom as a single parent.
Herrera said she wants to become an attorney and work with juvenile offenders.
“For her it’s really hard to make ends meet. And I’m working, but of course, I can’t really pay off that much money. And with tuition equality, I could go and look for scholarships and work a little bit more and I could even out the price.”
The legislation, Senate Bill 612, is still pending, but lawmakers are likely to take it up again next week.
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