ACLU: 20% of N.J. schools asking about immigration
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 3, 2008

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NEWARK — The American Civil Liberties Union says at least one-fifth of New Jersey's school districts are asking students their immigration status as they register for school.

The ACLU says it violates state and federal law to ask.

Compliance in the ACLU's survey this year was little better than two years ago, after which the state Department of Education warned districts not to ask about students' immigration status.

ACLU staff and volunteers pose as family or friends of students and call all the state's school districts to find out about their policies. Of 515 that responded, 139 said they had forms that asked for immigration status.

A state Education Department spokeswoman says schools that violate the law could face punitive action in the future, including losing state aid.
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