**STUDENTS, IMMIGRATION STATUS, AND THE RIGHT TO PUBLIC EDUCATION**

##### **July 19, 2021**

 

An essential part of ensuring equal opportunity is protecting  all students in their access to education free from discrimination. This  includes the right of all students in the United States to attend America’s  public elementary and secondary schools, regardless of their immigration or  citizenship status.

Students continue to have this right to public elementary  and secondary education after last Friday’s federal district court ruling regarding  the Deferred  Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy,  which bars the Department of Homeland Security from approving new  applicants but temporarily permits renewals to continue for those who currently  have DACA. Secretary Cardona stated in response to the ruling:

We are deeply disappointed by the recent decision by a  federal district court in Texas to block access  to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals  policy. The outcome will be harmful to promising young people who have grown up  here, and shared their talents and energies with our communities. Many of these  young people cannot remember any other home. 

Through  the centuries, this nation – including our schools - has been enriched by those  who have come to our shores from all over the world, seeking safety, freedom,  and the opportunity to contribute to our democracy. We draw strength from our  diversity. I want to be clear that under the law, public elementary and secondary  schools remain available to any student, and no  state can deny access to public education to any  resident, regardless of their immigration status. The U.S. Department of  Education’s Office for Civil Rights will continue to safeguard those rights for  all students, including those affected by the ruling. We will  work to ensure the nation’s public schools, colleges and universities will be  welcoming, safe and supportive places where all students, regardless of where they’re  born and their immigration status, are given the opportunity to succeed.

Here’s what you need to know about the right to a public  education for students who are not U.S. citizens:
            -  A  State may not deny access to public education to any child residing in the  State, including children who are not citizens and do not have immigration  documentation. The Supreme Court made this clear nearly forty years ago  in a case called *Plyler v. Doe*. 
            -  School  districts may not bar students from enrolling in public elementary and  secondary schools based on the citizenship or immigration status of the student  or their parent or guardian. 
            -  School       districts may not request information about the citizenship or immigration       status of students or their families with the purpose or result of denying       them access to educational opportunities. 
            -  Students  who are English learners have a right to appropriate language assistance  services, and parents and guardians have a right to receive communications from  their children’s school in a language they can understand. 

We invite you to use these resources that are designed to  help students, families, schools, and districts understand the rights of  students who are undocumented and the obligations of the schools that serve  them: 
            - Dear Colleague Letter on  School Enrollment and Student Citizenship,  including guidance on schools’ obligations to permit  students to enroll and participate in a school’s educational services without  discrimination based on the immigration status of students or their parents or  guardians. 
            - Dear Colleague Letter on  English Learners and Limited English Proficient Parents , including guidance on the  rights of students who are English learners and the rights of parents and  guardians who have limited English proficiency.
            - Information on the Rights of  All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School  Districts and Parents ,  which answers questions about enrollment, documentation, and measures to  support students with undocumented immigration status.
            - Fact Sheet: Information on  the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School , with information for  families and school districts about documentation and enrollment policies.
            - Resource Guide – Supporting  Undocumented Youth,  with information about legal guidelines, models from the field, and more to  support students in elementary, secondary and postsecondary education.  
            - Institutions of higher education can continue to       provide emergency grants through the Higher Education Emergency Relief       Fund to DACA recipients so they can enroll and continue in postsecondary       education. 

 

Our nation derives strength from our diversity and has  excelled because of, not in spite of, the many people who have come to the  United States from all parts of the world. We grow stronger still when all  students in the United States have full access to education, free from  discrimination. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights stands  ready to provide that protection.

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