NEWS

Vestal among 20 schools cited for immigrant policies

Joseph Spector

ALBANY – Vestal Central School District is among 20 upstate school districts that have agreed to new policies for immigrant students enrolling in classes after a state investigation, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Thursday.

The agreement with Schneiderman and the state Education Department will require the districts to remove inquiries into citizenship and immigration status from their enrollment materials and develop new procedures to ensure immigrant students aren't facing obstacles when they or their parents seek to enroll them in school, he said.

The districts span 14 counties in New York and include five in Monroe County: Gates Chili, Hilton, Penfield, Pittsford and Spencerport.

Other districts include: Amherst and Cheektowaga in Erie County; Dryden in Tompkins County; and Manchester-Shortsville in Ontario County.

Others were: Watertown, Carthage and Lyme in Jefferson County; Cuba Rushford in Allegany County; Greenville in Greene County; Homer in Cortland County; Sullivan West in Sullivan County; Williamson in Wayne County; Oneida in Madison County; Port Jervis in Orange County.

"Schoolhouse doors must be open to all students in our diverse state, regardless of their immigration status," Schneiderman said in a statement. "More than 30 years after the Supreme Court guaranteed a free public education for undocumented children, we must do everything we can to uphold the law and ensure equal access for all our students."

Schneiderman's office and the state Education Department started last October to conduct a review of districts' policies, starting on Long Island and Rockland and Westchester counties because they had an influx of unaccompanied students from Central and South America.

Now, he said, the effort has expanded to other parts of the state. A preliminary review found that the 20 districts had used enrollment materials that included unlawful inquiries, such asking for copies of Social Security cards, visa status and status as a U.S. citizen or non-citizen.

The state officials contended that the questions were in opposition to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1982 that found the U.S. Constitution guarantees equal protection for undocumented children. To deny them an education would "deny them the ability to live within the structure of our civic institutions," the ruling said.

So the districts have agreed to modify their enrollment materials, Schneiderman said, including to remove inquiries into citizenship or immigration status. They will also have to report districts' denials of student enrollment to the Attorney General's Office through June 2018.

JSPECTOR@Gannett.com