Students Enrolling In NY Schools Not to Be Asked Immigration Status

School districts in New York were sent a memorandum from The State Education Department strongly recommending that school officials not ask for information that could reveal the immigration status of enrolling students. The memo came after a civil liberties organization stated that asking certain information was possibly in violation of federal law.

In 1982, a Supreme Court decision declared that regardless of immigration status, all children had the right to attend public school as long as the age and residency requirements were met.

Titled “Student Registration Guidance”, the memo came after months of pressure from the New York Civil Liberties Union, which pointed out that 139 districts were requiring a child’s immigration papers or social security number in order to enroll in school.

The Education Departments stopped short of taking direct action to advise districts on the law, but in July, after the New York Tomes published an article on the subject, many school districts asked the state for guidance.