Posted: Friday, July 30, 2010
Civil rights group charges Rocky Point schools with discrimination
Says district shouldn't ask for Social Security info
BY JENNIFER GUSTAVSON |STAFF WRITER



The Rocky Point School District student registration policy currently includes requiring a Social Security number, a policy that has come under fire because it could deter illegal immigrants from sending their children to school.

The Rocky Point School District is discriminating against immigrants when it asks that new students provide Social Security numbers upon registration, according to a recent report from the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit organization based in Manhattan, found 20 percent of New York State schools require documentation for student enrollment that would reveal a parent or child's immigration status.

Superintendent Michael Ring said the district's Social Security number requirement for student enrollment is a Board of Education policy.

'A Social Security card is irrelevant to the enrollment process.'


"The district does not use this policy to discriminate against any potential enrollees," Dr. Ring said in a statement. "Like all districts, we have been provided with no guidance from the state education department on the matter."

Udi Ofer, advocacy director for the NYCLU, said there are only two eligibility requirements for student enrollment: age and residency.

Anyone between the ages of 5 and 21 qualifies for free education, he said, and schools may ask for proof of residency to determine if a student lives within a district.

"A Social Security card is irrelevant to the enrollment process," Mr. Ofer said.

If a school district mandates Social Security cards in order for parents to register their children then that is "clearly unconstitutional," he said.

The report, which the NYCLU issued earlier this year, was based on a review of student registration packets from 694 state schools. The group found that at least 139 of them ask for proof of a parent or child's immigration status before a student can register for school.

"Though some of these school districts undoubtedly seek to exclude immigrant children, many of the offending districts are surely unaware that their registration requirements are discriminatory," said NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman in a press release.

She said since the NYCLU brought this matter to the attention of the state education department nearly a year ago, it has "turned a blind eye to the situation and refused to provide schools the guidance they need on the law and on the U.S. Constitution."

Jane Briggs, a spokeswoman for the NYS Department of Education, said in a statement that as schools gather student information some questions might inadvertently prompt immigrants to resist enrolling their children.

"To prevent this from happening, the department will issue new guidance to all school districts clarifying their legal obligations regarding the registration of students, particularly with regard to immigration status," Ms. Briggs said.

Dr. Ring said the school district's attorney is reviewing the issue to determine if "corrective action is advisable."

jennifer@northshoresun.com


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