Jett said those 244 students received a combined $112,000 in state aid while paying more than $238,000 in tuition and fees. He said the total of all state financial aid to the students is about 0.109 percent of the amount provided to all Oklahoma students during the 2005-06 school year.

Jett noted the human cost of the regents' policy changes made necessary by House Bill 1804.

"What we don't want to do is punish these kids for the 'sins of their fathers,'" Jett said.

"Until we address the real issue of immigration reform, and that is two federal governments on two sides of the Rio Grande not keeping their promises and not doing what they're supposed to do, then we can't think that we can implement a unilateral policy in the state of Oklahoma that's designed to punish the victims of these two federal governments dropping the ball."

Regent Stuart Price of Tulsa said he voted against making the policy changes as a sort of protest of House Bill 1804. He called the law "inhuman, unfair, shortsighted and even opposed by the State Chamber" and asked, "How low will this law go?"

Regents Julie Carson of Claremore, Joseph Parker Jr. of Tulsa and Marlin Glass of Newkirk abstained from voting.

Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, the co-author of House Bill 1804, didn't immediately return a phone message left at his office Thursday afternoon by The Associated Press.

Should House Bill 1804 be stayed in court, a provision adopted by regents Thursday would allow their policy to revert to the one they established in 2003 until the stay is lifted or the regents take further action.

— Associated Press

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