California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law last week permitting low-income Mexican students to pay the same cost as Californians to attend some community colleges.

加利福尼亚州州长加文·纽森上周签署了一项法律，允许低收入的墨西哥学生支付与加州学生相同的费用就读一些社区大学。

The law starts next year and will run as a pilot, or test program, for five years.

这项法律将于明年开始实施，试行五年。

The program is open to Mexican students who live within 72 kilometers of the U.S. border in California.

该计划对居住在靠近加州距离美国边境72公里范围内的墨西哥学生开放。

In California, the Education Data Initiative says the average yearly cost of tuition at community colleges for Californians is $1,500.

在加利福尼亚州，教育数据倡议组织表示，加州社区大学每年的平均学费为1500美元。

For out-of-state students, the yearly cost is nearly $10,000.

对于非本州的学生来说，每年的学费接近1万美元。

It means a possible saving of more than $8,000 for some Mexican students under the program.

这意味着，在该计划下，一些墨西哥学生可能会节省超过8000美元。

David Alvarez is a California state lawmaker who worked on the law.

大卫·阿尔瓦雷斯是加利福尼亚州的一名议员，他参与制定了这项法律。

He said many Mexicans travel between the two countries to work or visit family.

他说，许多墨西哥人往返于两国之间工作或探亲。

And the law will help make education readily available to prepare them for jobs.

这项法律将会帮助他们更容易地接受教育，为就业做好准备。

Alvarez said in a statement that the program would help "prepare a more diverse population among our workforce."

阿尔瓦雷斯在一份声明中表示，该计划将有助于“在我们的劳动力中培养更多元化的人口”。

Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, is just 11 kilometers from the U.S. border with Mexico.

位于加利福尼亚州丘拉维斯塔的西南学院距离美墨边境只有11公里。

The college's president Mark Sanchez said many students at the school split their time between the two countries.

该学院校长马克·桑切斯表示，该校的许多学生在两国之间奔波。

"Without this pilot, we risk everything in terms of loss of talent," he told lawmakers at a hearing last June.

他在去年6月的一次听证会上对议员们说：“如果没有这个试点计划，我们就有可能失去人才。”

Students from Mexico who decide to go to Southwestern College will save about $7,000 based on the lower cost for Californians.

根据加州学生的较低学费计算，决定去西南学院的墨西哥学生将节省约7000美元。

The law requires community colleges to report by 2028 on the attendance and the number of students receiving in-state tuition under the program.

该法律要求社区大学在2028年之前报告参加该计划的学生人数和接受本州学费的学生人数。

In 2015, California passed a similar law that permitted students who lived close to its border with Nevada to attend Lake Tahoe Community College at in-state tuition.

2015年，加利福尼亚州通过了一项类似的法律，允许居住在内华达州边境附近的学生以州内学费标准就读太浩湖社区学院。

I'm Dan Friedell.

丹·弗里德尔为您播报。

来源：VOA