The Guilford County Board of Education adopted a resolution asking the state legislature to provide in-state tuition at state colleges and universities for immigrant students considered Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Board members passed the resolution at their regularly scheduled meeting Thursday night.

Right now, 17 states have approved in-state tuition for DACA students, according to the resolution. The Board said that by offering in-state tuition, the legislature could leverage the investment public schools have already made in those students during their K-12 educational careers.

“For many of these students this is the only home they’ve known,” said board member Linda Welborn. “They understand the value of education and we will get a return. If we allow these students to further their education, they will contribute to our economic base, be a great value and be able to contribute to growing our economy.”

GCS students come from more than 79 different countries and speak nearly 100 different world languages and dialects. The resolution also noted that GCS DACA students and their families currently make significant contributions to schools, businesses and communities.