Education
Massachusetts lawyer group demands school districts stop denying migrant children the right to attend school
Saugus, Mass. – Pushing back against what they say is a recent wave of school districts seeking to illegally deny migrant children the right to attend school, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children today demanded that Saugus Public Schools immediately revise its Student Admissions Policy. They believe that the policy, adopted in August 2023, imposes overly stringent residency and proof-of-identity requirements and impermissibly denies admission to children of families who have not filled out the Town Census.
The group released the following statement.
“These requirements disproportionately impact immigrant and mixed-status families, violating their rights under the U.S. and Massachusetts Constitutions. The policy must be revised by the town’s School Committee prior to the start of the school year in Saugus, on August 27, 2024.”
“Strewn with exclusionary language, the policy purports to require all students of the Saugus Public Schools to be “legal residents”; excludes any family that has not completed the Town Census; requires identity documents that many immigrants lack; and even threatens investigations and “criminal and civil penalties” against anyone who violates the policy. If a family moves from Saugus during the school year, the policy warns that the district will send unspecified “immigration records” to the student’s new school. These threats – individually and collectively – are unlawful, exclusionary and discriminatory.
“Under both the U.S. and Massachusetts Constitutions, school districts are duty-bound to provide an education to all students, regardless of race or immigration status. Further, Massachusetts law does not authorize school committees to use a town census to prevent children from attending school. Policies that are intentionally discriminatory, as well as those that have the effect of discouraging access, are illegal under both state and federal law.
“Saugus’ policy is part of a recent wave of xenophobic policies enacted in districts across Massachusetts, which unfairly target children from immigrant and mixed-status families. Lawyers for Civil Rights successfully advocated against a recent attempt by Norfolk Public Schools to prevent migrant children from enrolling in its schools.”
“School districts cannot pick and choose the students they serve,” said Erika Richmond Walton, an attorney with Lawyers for Civil Rights. “If a child lives in a particular school district, they are entitled to attend that district’s schools, regardless of race or national origin,” she added.
“Denying children the right to go to school is not only cruel, it’s also illegal,” said Diana Santiago, Legal Director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children. “School districts should be welcoming students, not making harmful and misleading statements designed to deter enrollment.”
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KamalaBorderCzar
August 15, 2024 at 10:32 am
Civil Rights for who? What about the taxpayer who must support all of these illegals? We are living in the twighlight zone, where up is down and right is wrong. American Citizens to the front of the line, illegals back to their home countries.
Karen Bedard
August 21, 2024 at 9:04 pm
I I would trade every magamaniac in this country for immigrants any day of the week. Fox News has deteriorated compassion, common sense, and truth, and replaced it with faux Christianity, nonsense, and lies. What we’ve become is shameful.
Gary
August 15, 2024 at 11:09 am
“THINKING”
I never saw our State Govt work so fast when some “Open Borders Folks were sent to ‘Martha’s Vineyard’. Where all the DEMS Elites have Houses.
‘The Bond Market must have called the State House and told MA Gov we cannot afford it? Or Wall Street?
“Massachusetts Set For Record Number Of Deportations Despite Sanctuary State Status”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/massachusetts-set-record-number-deportations-despite-sanctuary-state-status
Gary
August 15, 2024 at 11:19 am
“THINKING”
How will these Massachusetts School Districts ‘PAY’ for these increase Numbers?
Has this Law group looked at the original Legislative Intent of the so called MA Right To Shelter Law when it was passed?
Does the Law stipulate MA would Shelter any person from the World, or only MA Legal USA Citizens?
I doubt this Law group will pay for K-12?
Are these Individuals in the Country Legally?
#65% Of Americans living Pay Check To Pay Check, in essence we are Broke!
Rags
August 15, 2024 at 11:35 am
Yes, I am sure they will win and we the working people will pay the very high price for educating the children of all the illegal “new neighbors” we now have. Thank you Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Please remember this when voting.
Drock
August 15, 2024 at 3:05 pm
Funny how you blame Biden but this has been the policy since long before he became president.
Gary
August 15, 2024 at 5:39 pm
“Thinking”
The Facts are we had the Securest Border, in #25 Years under President Trump.
Biden/Harris/DEMS have let approx #20 MM in that we know about.
“Migrants getting ‘$20,000 a Month is Criminal’ to hard Working Legal Citizens Paying the Freight!” Americans are broke under the Biden/Harris/Dems Economy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaNxEtynDIE
Harris the Czar 😉
August 16, 2024 at 7:14 am
Policy? Long before? lol. Dude. The gate is wide open. 3.5 years ago it wasn’t.
KamalaBorderCzar
August 16, 2024 at 10:50 am
Fool!!!
KA
August 16, 2024 at 8:35 am
Yes but we have not always had open borders
TrumpIsTheONLYChoice
August 15, 2024 at 1:38 pm
This is complete insanity. I agree completely with above 2 comments. We pay taxes it’s our rights not the ILLEGALS if they want our rights come here legally like our families did and pay taxes. These kids don’t even speak ENGLISH they aren’t just Mexican they’re coming from as Elon musk says ‘EARTH’ all of Earth is now here illegally. Who’s going to pay for teachers for them? My son has learning disabilities and can barely get help cuz of funding what happens when the funding WE PAY FOR goes to teachers for the illegals before helping our children. AMERICA FIRST. Stop with the BS that KH is ‘black’ and a woman and you like her laugh. This isn’t a job interview for a game show host?! It’s POTUS! KH has been hiding the past 4 years and done NOTHING but destroy our country. She isn’t ‘change’. Look at the border, ILLEGALS literally running through and our security border agents natl guard are told to stand down, kids are missing, literally getting tagged and trafficked off at the border like cattle. Stop listening to the media and look at FACTS.
Mimi Mandes
August 15, 2024 at 2:32 pm
What a joke illegals and migrants have been coming here for years. And will continue to come even after your buddy Trump takes office. Building a wall ain’t gonna do s*** when we got oceans they can cross. Lmaoo
Gary
August 15, 2024 at 5:51 pm
“THINKING”
If ‘President Eisenhower’ sent them back, so can a Future President!
All Biden/Harris had to do was to keep Trumps Border Policy in Place, they cancelled his Policy’s and now we have a ”Boiling Mess on our Hands!” Plus we are in a ‘Recession’, and ‘Americans are Broke!’ Real Un-Employment is close to #14%, combine Under Employed-With Real Un-Employment Rate, view non legacy Media Economist’s.
“The Largest Mass Deportation in American History”
As many as 1.3 million people may have been swept up in the ‘Pres. Eisenhower-era’ campaign called ‘Operation Wetback.’
https://www.history.com/news/operation-wetback-eisenhower-1954-deportation
Manny
August 17, 2024 at 8:39 am
Exactly. Look no further than all these Portuguese that came and overstayed their visas, never bothered to lear English and sucked the rich milk from the teat of America to get to where they got to. They are the first ones to complain about immigrants, yet they were immigrants too. Talk about hypocrisy….
MortisMaximus
August 17, 2024 at 1:33 pm
That’s a very broad brush you’re using to denigrate a group of people who came here to work. Shut off the taxpayer funded benefits and we’ll see who sticks around to support themselves and thus the community.
PJB
August 15, 2024 at 6:24 pm
Where does it say illegal immigrants? That’s all I am seeing in sone of these comments. People do come here legally you are aware. Just a statement. The title of the article says migrant, as in immigrants here legally, not illegal immigrants children
clint
August 16, 2024 at 7:59 am
There is no denying Joe threw out the welcome mat during the presidential debate. It made a bad situation way worse. This is unsustainable. Have any of the many countries they come from sent any money this way to support them? No, All we’ve gotten from them is the human debris they’ve let out of their jails. It’s a win win for them.
Oxy Moron
August 16, 2024 at 7:15 am
It is illegal to deny illegals? Ok. Yogi Berra
Rags
August 16, 2024 at 9:21 am
This is not only a problem with education. If you fall on hard times and need housing, maybe you worked here all your life, are elderly, sick or whatever. Go down to housing in FR and see who gets preference, especially if they have children. So we pay for education of non citizens and housing when their isn’t enough for our own needs.
Lisa
August 16, 2024 at 11:28 am
It is illegal to do that. Or have we all decided we don’t care about the Constitution or law any more? So, if they deny schooling on the basis of being a migrant without a legal Saugus address, does this also apply to kids who don’t live in Saugus, but whose parents use other family members’ Saugus addresses to enroll them in Saugus schools? Those parents can’t fill out a Town census because they don’t live in Saugus. Are they going to pursue civil and criminal complaints against them also? Can’t do it to one group without doing it to another. I would think that would be considered as racist and prejudicial.
MortisMaximus
August 16, 2024 at 6:32 pm
Is this about race or legal status? Stop trying to justify illegal behavior by shouting racism, it looks foolish. America is the most diversified land mass in history.