Olvera v. University System of Georgia's Board of Regents, 331 Ga. App. 392

DACA beneficiaries (noncitizen college students) sued the University System of Georgia Board of Regents (and members in their official capacities) seeking a declaratory judgment that they are entitled to in-state tuition benefits.
Plaintiffs alleged DACA confers lawful presence, the Board’s policy manual requires verification of lawful presence for in-state classification, and the Board had not defined "lawful presence."
Plaintiffs claimed the Board refused to grant in-state tuition to DACA recipients and sought a class-style declaration for similarly situated students.
The Board moved to dismiss, asserting sovereign immunity bars the suit.
The trial court granted dismissal, holding sovereign immunity extends to declaratory actions and the APA provision (OCGA § 50-13-10) waiving immunity covers only challenges to formally adopted agency rules, not interpretive policies.
The court of appeals affirmed on sovereign immunity grounds and did not reach the merits.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether sovereign immunity bars the declaratory judgment action	DACA confers lawful presence; OCGA § 50-13-10 waives sovereign immunity for declaratory challenges to agency policies, so suit may proceed	Sovereign immunity protects the Board and its members in official capacities; § 50-13-10 only waives immunity for challenges to formally promulgated agency rules, not interpretive policies	Sovereign immunity bars the action; § 50-13-10 does not waive immunity for interpretive rules
Whether the Board’s policies are APA-adopted rules (thus within § 50-13-10)	Policies are effectively rules governing in-state eligibility and thus subject to declaratory review under § 50-13-10	Policies are interpretive and were not adopted through APA rulemaking, so § 50-13-10 does not apply	Plaintiffs failed to show the policies were APA-adopted rules; they are treated as interpretive and outside § 50-13-10

Wilson v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. System of Georgia, 262 Ga. 413 (sovereign immunity extends to Board of Regents)
Center for a Sustainable Coast v. Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources, 294 Ga. 593 (sovereign immunity applies to state officers sued in official capacity)
Roy E. Davis & Co. v. Dept. of Revenue, 256 Ga. 709 (policy never enacted under APA is an interpretive rule, not subject to OCGA § 50-13-10)
Ga. State Bd. of Dental Examiners v. Daniels, 137 Ga. App. 706 (§ 50-13-10 authorizes declaratory judgments on validity of formally adopted agency rules)
Ga. Oilmen’s Assn. v. Ga. Dept. of Revenue, 261 Ga. App. 393 (agency interpretation constituting an interpretive rule is not reviewable under § 50-13-10)
Judicial Council of Ga. v. Brown & Gallo, LLC, 288 Ga. 294 (sovereign immunity extends to declaratory judgment actions against state agencies)