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“Education is a human right,” Rep. Grace Diaz, a Providence Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, said in announcing the legislation Thursday. “For them, education is the way out of poverty.”

The bill would allow students who are here illegally to qualify for the tuition breaks if they have lived in Rhode Island for at least three years and have graduated from a state high school or earned an equivalency diploma.

Qualifying students would be required to sign affidavits pledging to their respective schools — either the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College or the Community College of Rhode Island — that they’ve applied to become legal citizens.

Diaz said children should not be penalized because their parents brought them into the country illegally. The bill would apply to an estimated 125 high school graduates each year, many of whom have been in Rhode Island schools for years, Diaz said.

“This is about justice, it’s about human dignity, and it’s about rights,” said Roberto Gonzalez, an immigration attorney and proponent of the bill who spoke alongside Diaz.