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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

NY Immigrant Child Data Protection

The New York State Board of Regents has adopted emergency regulations aimed at ensuring the recent wave of undocumented minors that arrived in the state can enroll in school.

The state has received several complaints of undocumented students facing barriers to school enrollment and has set up training sessions and issued guidance to help correct the issue. The new regulations were passed to give schools clarity on how to comply with federal law, the Board of Regents said in a release. The regulations specify that schools can't ask about the citizenship or immigration status of students or their parents, and it outlines acceptable documents schools can use to determine childrens' ages when enrolling them in school.

"The Board of Regents has enacted these regulations to protect the right of each and every child to a free public education, no matter where they come from or what they look like," Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said “We are resolute in the belief that enrollment obstacles cannot hold back the hopes and aspirations of our children.”


New York state isn't alone in its concerns about barriers for undocumented minors enrolling in school: The federal Education Department has also issued multiple rounds of guidance in recent years reminding states of their obligations when enrolling undocumented students.

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