New York Asks Schools to Avoid Pupil Immigration Status

New York Times: The State Education Department has sent school districts a memorandum strongly recommending that they not ask for information that might reveal the immigration status of enrolling students, after a civil liberties group complained that scores of districts were requesting such information in possible violation of federal law. The memo, which was sent on Monday, explained that a 1982 Supreme Court decision had recognized the right of all children, regardless of immigration status, to attend public school as long as they met the age and residency requirements established by state law. “Accordingly, at the time of registration,” the memo said, “schools should avoid asking questions related to immigration status or that may reveal a child’s immigration status, such as asking for a Social Security number.” The memo, titled “Student Registration Guidance,” followed months of pressure from the New York Civil Liberties Union, which had discovered that some 139 districts — about 20 percent of the total — were requiring children’s immigration papers as a prerequisite to enrollment, or asking parents for information that only lawful immigrants could provide. The group repeatedly asked the Education Department to stop those practices.