The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter todistricts around the country Friday, reminding them that allstudents - legal or not - are entitled to a public education.
The letter comes amid reports that schools may be checking theimmigration status of students trying to enroll, and it remindsdistricts they are federally prohibited from barring elementary orsecondary students on the basis of citizenship status.
"Moreover, districts may not request information with thepurpose or result of denying access to public schools on the basisof race, color or national origin," said the letter, which wassigned by officials from the department's Office of Civil Rightsand the Department of Justice.
The reasoning:A 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe, held that statescannot deny students access to public education, whether they arein the U.S. legally or not. The court ruled that denying publiceducation could impose a lifetime of hardship.
Apparently, public education, paid for by someone else, is now a civil right:
The letter comes as the Office of Civil Rights investigates three complaints, and less than a week before the president isexpected to deliver a speech on immigration during a visit toTexas.
Question: Are schools also not requiring proof of immunization and simply taking the word of illegal parents when they say their children were vaccinated back in their home country, since asking for proof if citizenship is illegal as stated by federal law? Just a thought.