This month high-school students around the country will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. College weighs heavy on the minds of a lot of students these days, but for one group of immigrant students the decision to go to college is often not one they are able to even consider.

The  debate around providing educational benefits for undocumented students -- particularly in regards to providing financial aid or in-state college tuition rates -- has been heating up over the past few months at both the state and federal level.

At the federal level, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, or Dream Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on March 26, would allow states to charge the children of undocumented immigrants in-state tuition and provide a multi-step path to citizenship for these students. Advocates of the federal Dream Act are launching a new effort to pass the bill this year.

In order to receive the bill's benefits, undocumented students must have been in the country for five years, be 15 years old or younger at the time they entered the country and be of "good moral character." To gain permanent legal status in the country, the applicant must complete a two-year college or vocational school program, have two years toward a bachelor's or serve in the armed forces for at least two years.

Dream Act supporters say at its core the bill is about equity and fairness in dealing with undocumented students. Opponents, on the other hand, say it would reward bad behavior, fueling further waves of illegal immigration.

The Dream Act has failed in the four previous Congresses, getting as far as House approval nearly two years ago. But now, with the Obama Administration announcing plans to talk about immigration reform this year combined with a strengthened Democratic congressional majority, supporters say the bill stands a good chance of passing. As a senator, Obama was a cosponsor in 2007.

The bill continues to gain national and local support. In April, the College Board -- a nonprofit group composed of more than 5,000 member schools and other educational organizations -- announced its support of the Dream Act. In the report "Young Lives on Hold: The College Dreams of Undocumented Students," the College Board notes that the Dream Act would allow 360,000 undocumented high school graduates to attend college and legalize their immigration status. The organization also notes that the act would provide incentives for another 715,000 youngsters between the ages of 5 and 17 to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. Every year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, only 5 to 10 percent of them attend college, according to the report.

Proponents of the Dream Act also highlight its potential as an economic stimulus package. It would strengthen the economy by creating a more educated work force and it would boost overall school revenues by bringing in tuition from students who otherwise would not be able to attend college, advocates say. The College Board report underscores that not allowing undocumented students the chance to pursue higher education adds up to a significant amount of "wasted talent" that "imposes economic and emotional costs" on students themselves and on U.S. society as a whole.

Earlier this month Janet Napolitano said she supported the Dream Act as the governor of Arizona, and she supports it now -- as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

States as the first battleground

In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that undocumented students could legally attend K-12 public schools. However, the decision did not address public education beyond high school. While undocumented students are permitted to attend college in most states, they are ineligible for federal financial aid, cannot legally work to pay for college, and are required to pay out-of-state tuition rates (in-state tuition tends to be two to three times less than what out-of-state students pay).

While the Dream Act is federal legislation, it will have important implications at the state level by mandating that states charge undocumented immigrants in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Currently states continue to be divided over providing benefits, and in many cases leave it up to individual colleges to decide. At least four states - Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona - prohibit undocumented students from paying in-state tuition rates. In 2008 South Carolina banned undocumented students from enrolling at any of its public colleges, and North Carolina barred them from its community colleges in 2007. Alabama also blocks undocumented students from its two-year colleges, and Virginia is considering a law to deny enrollment, reports the Associated Press.

In contrast, between 2001 and 2006, 10 states -- among them California, Kansas, and New York -- passed legislation awarding in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. Texas is currently the only Southern state to offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.

A bill supporting in-state tuition was introduced this year in Arkansas, but it failed in the Senate, although the vote was closer than expected. The Progressive States Network reports that the North Carolina legislature is now reconsidering their ban since a new study found that allowing undocumented students to enroll at out-of-state levels would generate needed revenues for the state.