Thread: Kan. bill would require documentation of students

Kan. bill would require documentation of students

Updated 8:10 am, Wednesday, January 29, 2014

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislator wants the state to count and report the number of children in public schools who might be living in the country illegally.

Rep. Allan Rothlisberg, a Republican from Grandview Plaza, introduced a bill on Tuesday that he said would help determine how much taxpayer money is spent to educate children who are not lawfully living in the country.

"I would prefer we spend tax dollars on citizens and not on illegal aliens," he said.

The bill would require a school board to ask for "proof of lawful presence" when a child enrolls for the first time in a public school. The proof would be a birth certificate, Social Security card or other document, The Lawrence Journal-World reported (http://bit.ly/1hMF7zQ ).

The State Department of Education would gather the information and publish a record of the number of children who didn't provide the proof, and the average per pupil school finance cost.

Rothlisberg said a child who didn't have the proper documentation would not be barred from enrolling in school and no child would be publicly identified.

The executive director of the Sunflower Community Action, which works on immigration and education issues, criticized the bill.

"This is no more than another attempt at intimidation and harassment," Sulma Arias said. "This time, these acts of cowardice are directed at our children. In a state like ours, which is proud of our immigrant history, we should keep in mind the outstanding contributions that immigrant students who have attended Kansas public schools have made and continue to make to our state."

Alabama enacted a similar law in 2011, but it was blocked by a federal appeals court.

A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling grants the children of people who are living in the U.S. illegally a free public education.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bill-would-require-count-of-undocumented-students-5184431.php

"I would prefer we spend tax dollars on citizens and not on illegal aliens," he said.

Common sense alert! However there is little common sense with most politicians.

Published February 23, 2014


(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2014 Getty Images)

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas lawmaker's proposal to track the citizenship status of public schoolchildren has raised alarm in one of the state's most diverse communities, where district administrators worry that even raising the question with parents and students would damage the welcoming environment they have tried to create.

Republican Rep. Allan Rothlisberg and officials of the Garden City district in western Kansas agree that under a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, all students are entitled to a public education regardless of their citizenship status or that of their parents. But Rothlisberg, of Grandview Plaza, introduced his bill with the goal of calculating how much Kansas is spending to educate children who are in the U.S. without legal permission.

"What I'm trying to get across here is where our tax money is being diverted to," Rothlisberg told The Garden City Telegram. "It's not going to our children or grandchildren."

Rothlisberg's bill would require every child who enrolls in a public school for the first time to present proof of lawful presence, such as a Social Security card, birth certificate or other document. Districts would submit annual reports to the state on the total number of children they enrolled who failed to provide such proof.

No child would be identified in the annual reports, but Garden City superintendent Rick Atha said merely asking about a student's citizenship status would imperil the trusting relationship the district has tried to build with all families.

Meatpacking is a major industry in Garden City and its surrounding areas. An estimated 20 percent of its nearly 27,000 residents were foreign-born as of 2012, compared to 6.5 percent for Kansas as a whole, according to census data. The Census also estimates that a language other than English is spoken in 40 percent of Garden City homes, compared to 11 percent of all homes statewide.

"To do what I interpret this bill is asking school districts to do, we're creating an uncomfortable environment for that child to go to school, by asking that information of whether or not the student is documented or undocumented," Atha said. "We're in the business of wanting to make kids and their parents feel welcome to come to school, that school is a safe place for them."

Atha said Garden City does ask students who enroll for proof of residency, such as a utility bill or rental agreement. It also asks for a copy of a child's birth certificate to establish who can make decisions on the student's behalf.

Beyond that he said he doesn't know how many — if any — students are in the U.S. illegally, "because we don't track that information or ask for it. It's irrelevant."

Garden City places students who have recently arrived in the U.S. in newcomer classrooms, where as many as eight to 10 different languages may be spoken, assistant superintendent Darren Dennis said. He added that English language learners make up close to 44 percent of the district.

"But that's different than immigrant," Dennis said.

Rothlisberg said his bill would not cause any students to feel as if they're being discriminated, since all students would be required to provide documentation of legal presence.

"They feel alienated anyway because they know they're here illegally. So, I mean, they already know they're breaking the law," Rothlisberg said.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/pol...public-school/

Rothlisberg and Ruiz square off on identification of 'illegal alien' students

Posted: March 26, 2014 - 5:05pm
By Andy Marso
cjonline.com



A House member's attempt Wednesday to attach a floor amendment requiring schools to record schoolchildren's immigration status drew the ire of Latino lawmakers of both parties.

Rep. Allan Rothlisberg, R-Grandview Plaza, said his amendment was meant to discern the true cost of educating "illegal aliens," not to prevent them from becoming educated, which would run afoul of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

"We don't know where our money's going to," Rothlisberg said. "That money should be spent on our own children and grandchildren."

Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, suspected Rothlisberg had other motives.

"Is this amendment racially motivated?" Ruiz asked.

Rothlisberg said it wasn’t.

"It does not refer to any ethnic background in this," Rothlisberg said. "There are illegals that come in from Eastern Europe, there are illegals that come from Asia, there are illegals from all over the world that come into our country."

Ruiz remained unconvinced. After he and Rothlisberg argued about what to call those who are in the United States illegally and about their benefit to the Kansas economy versus their cost in criminal activity, Ruiz urged his colleagues to shoot down the amendment.

"Compiling data is one thing," Ruiz said. "But making it personal, being vindictive and hateful, is another."

Rothlisberg's amendment was successfully challenged as not related to the underlying bill on student data privacy, and the floor debate ceased.

Rep. Ramon Gonzalez, R-Perry, was preparing to speak if it would have continued.

"I was frustrated," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said he disputed Rothlisberg's argument that the students in question were "knowingly illegal" and that their parents were "using their children as pawns."

"My concern was why we are singling out the kids?" Gonzalez said. "The kids didn't have anything to do with it."

Gonzalez said the proposed amendment amounted to "racial profiling."

"What are we going to ask the immigrant children to put on their shirts?" Gonzalez said. "Some kind of symbol to show they're of alien descent?"

Gonzalez also said the students in question grow up to be "proud and productive citizens of Kansas," a point debated on the floor by Ruiz and Rothlisberg.

Ruiz asked Rothlisberg whether he believed undocumented workers provide value to the state by buying cars and groceries and paying sales and payroll tax.

"First off, they're not undocumented workers, they're illegal aliens," Rothlisberg responded.

"You call them what you want," Ruiz said. "I'll call them undocumented."

"I prefer to call them what the legal definition is," Rothlisberg said.

"Well don't correct me, representative, please," Ruiz said.

Rothlisberg went on to tell Ruiz that any benefit illegal immigrants might have to the Kansas economy had to be weighed against the costs of their incarcerations.

"You forgot to add the fact there's a lot of criminal activity involved with the illegals that are in this state," Rothlisberg said. "You have numerous gangs in Dodge City, you have drug trafficking going on."

Gonzalez, a police chief, said all of those activities also have social costs when they are perpetrated by those born in the United States, including members of the Aryan Brotherhood, "the old KKK," and a survivalist group founded in Missouri called The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord.

"Gangs go across the culture barriers," Gonzalez said. "They're not one race or ethnic group."

http://cjonline.com/news/2014-03-26/...gration-debate

A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling grants the children of people who are living in the U.S. illegally a free public education.

It is NOT free, WE are paying for it with our tax dollars!!!Why should we be giving a free education to foreigners who break our laws?

Beyond that he said he doesn't know how many — if any — students are in the U.S. illegally, "because we don't track that information or ask for it. It's irrelevant."

It is NOT irrelevant, it is our tax dollars being given away to reward people who have no respect for our laws and cost us a fortune in other areas as well. We are broke! Our people are becoming poorer, things are getting worse with illegals dragging us down, not better!!

"My concern was why we are singling out the kids?" Gonzalez said. "The kids didn't have anything to do with it."

Their parents unfairly put them in the position that they are in and should have thought of consequences before residing in a foreign Country and calling it home. They waltz in illegally and demand and expect to be treated like an American citizen. It doesn't work like that.