Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Department of Education to biannually distribute a letter to school districts reminding districts of requirement to enroll resident students regardless of immigration status.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning eligibility for enrollment in public schools and supplementing chapter 38 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Department of Education shall biannually distribute a letter to each school district reminding the district of the obligation to enroll resident students regardless of immigration status and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education. The letter shall be distributed by August 1 and December 30 of each school year and shall include information on the documentation that may be requested pursuant to State board regulations to demonstrate a student's eligibility for enrollment in the district.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), the United States Supreme Court held that undocumented children living in the United States could not be excluded from public elementary and secondary schools based upon their immigration status and that these children were entitled to a free appropriate public education. State Board of Education regulations at N.J.A.C.6A:22-3.3(b) implement this federal requirement and provide that a child's immigration status does not affect his eligibility to attend public school, and he must be enrolled without regard to, or inquiry concerning, immigration status.
This bill requires the Department of Education to biannually distribute a letter to each school district reminding the district of the obligation to enroll resident students regardless of immigration status and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education. Under the bill, the letter must be distributed by August 1 and December 30 of each school year and must include information on the documentation that may be requested pursuant to State board regulations to demonstrate a student's eligibility for enrollment in the district.