CONFRONTING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON NATIONAL ORIGIN AND IMMIGRATION STATUS

October 18, 2021

 

Our country derives strength from its diversity, bringing together countless cultures, languages, and people. The same goes for our public schools.

As students are settling into the new school year, it is important to know that all children in the United States have a right to a public education free from discrimination based on their own or their parents’ or guardians’ citizenship or immigration status. Students must also be free from discrimination based on their proficiency in English, including students who are refugees and others recently arrived in the United States.

Federal civil rights laws and the U.S. Supreme Court make these points clear:

• A State may not deny access to a basic public education to any child or youth residing in that State. This includes young people who are legally authorized immigrants and those who do not have immigration documentation.
• School districts cannot bar students from enrolling in public schools at the elementary and secondary level on the basis of the students’ or their parents’ or guardians’ citizenship or immigration status.
• School districts may not request information about the citizenship or immigration status of a student or their family with the purpose or result of denying them access to educational opportunities.

In August, OCR and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division jointly issued a new fact sheet, Confronting Discrimination Based on National Origin and Immigration Status, providing information about public elementary and secondary schools’ obligation to enroll all children, regardless of national origin or immigration status, and to provide language assistance services to English learners.

Last week, the two Departments released eight new translations of this fact sheet in the following languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Arabic, Vietnamese, Somali, Haitian Creole, as well as Dari and Pashto, the two languages spoken most widely in Afghanistan.

Many additional resources from OCR and the Department of Education are designed to help students, families, schools, and districts understand the rights of students with undocumented status and the obligations of the schools that serve them. These include:

• Virtual resource binders for both elementary and secondary schools and postsecondary institutions that include fact sheets, Q&As, letters to educators, and other materials explaining the obligations that elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools have under the federal civil rights laws enforced by OCR to provide educational environments free from discrimination
• Dear Colleague Letter on student enrollment procedures that provides guidance on the Plyler v. Doe decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, which guarantees all students the right to public education, and federal civil rights laws that also provide protections
• Question & Answer resource on the rights of all children to enroll in school, which assists states and school districts in meeting their legal obligations to students with undocumented status
• Fact Sheet with information about school-enrollment rights for all students and information about documents that schools may, and may not, require
• Supporting Undocumented Youth: A Guide for Success in Secondary and Postsecondary Settings to aid schools in supporting students with undocumented status

OCR is committed to ensuring that all families and students—including all who have recently arrived in the United States—receive access to information in a language they can understand. We appreciate your sharing these resources, including the new translations provided here, with educators, families, students, and community members.

Suzanne B. Goldberg
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Operations and Outreach
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education