NYT: Requirements Keep Young Immigrants Out of Long Island Classrooms

The NY Times published an article today about the ways in which migrant children who are residing in Long Island, NY have not been able to attend schools because the schools are not convinced that their parents reside in the district. 

“Four months after fleeing Honduras with a 15-year-old cousin, Carlos has reached what his family said seemed like an impassable frontier. Like dozens of the roughly 2,500 unaccompanied immigrant children who have been released to relatives or other sponsors on Long Island so far this year, Carlos has been unable to register for school . . . Many of the children are barred because their families cannot gather the documents that schools require to prove they are residents of the district or have guardianship — obstacles that contravene legal guidance on enrollment procedures the State Education Department issued in September.

Mary Lagnado, superintendent of one of the Long Island schools stated that there are strong residency requirements in the schools because of huge tax burdens on residents. ““We try to make sure that they are a bona fide resident of the school district,” she said. “Taxes are very high on Long Island. We have a responsibility to our community and homeowners.”

The link to the article is here.

RCV