Half-dozen north country districts revisit student registration policies

Some north country school districts are updating their student registration policies after they were identified as using practices that could discourage the enrollment of immigrant students by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Carthage, Watertown, Belleville Henderson, Lyme, Canton and Morristown made the list of identified school districts.

The state Education Department issued a report to school superintendents this week to remind them of registration guidelines and encouraged them to consult with their lawyers about any registration policy changes that should be made.

Morristown Central School District Superintendent David J. Glover said his district's issue stemmed from a student registration form that asked for a Social Security number.

"This existed from before and it never stopped a kid from coming to school," Mr. Glover said. "It was an oversight, and when we realized it this summer, we threw out the forms and printed all new ones, so we've addressed it and I believe we're in compliance."

Until recently, to register in Carthage Central School District, a Social Security card was required and there was a place for a parent to indicate when a child entered the United States, Superintendent Joseph M. Catanzaro said.

"I assume that it was those parts of the form that got us on the list," Mr. Catanzaro said. "That has been removed, as well as the requirement for a Social Security card."

Canton Central School District Superintendent William A. Gregory said he wasn't sure why his district was put on the Civil Liberties Union's list, because no specific information was given about what practice each district used.

"NYCLU was not specific in why we were placed on the list. We believe it had to do with asking for a Social Security number on a registration form as a form of identification," Mr. Gregory said. "The registration form has been altered to remove the reference to a Social Security number. We notified the NYCLU of the change by letter."

The New York Civil Liberties Union identified 139 school districts in the state that use practices such as requiring a student's Social Security number or something else that may reveal the student's immigration status.

Watertown City School District officials think their district was wrongly included in the list, Superintendent Terry N. Fralick said.

He turned the issue over to school attorney Keith B. Caughlin, who researched the problem and didn't find anything on the district's registration forms that isn't in compliance with the law, Mr. Fralick said.

"We felt they were at error for citing us for that indiscretion," Mr. Fralick said. "That's the school attorney's opinion and he wrote a letter to them, but we haven't received any response."

In the state Education Department's report to superintendents, it details parts of state education law that says school districts cannot deny resident students a free public education on the basis of their immigration status. Undocumented children have the right to attend school full time as long as they meet age and residency requirements, the student enrollment guidance states.

In cases in which a birth certificate or record of baptism giving the child's date of birth is not available, a passport, including a foreign passport, may be used as evidence of the child's age. The state Education Department report includes other examples of documentation that could be used to establish a child's age, such as a consulate identification card, hospital or health records and a military dependent identification card.

Belleville Henderson Central School District Superintendent Rick T. Moore sent policy information this week to his district's lawyers, who will review it and determine whether any changes need to be made, Mr. Moore said.

Lyme Central School District Superintendent Karen M. Donahue could not be reached for comment.

Johnson Newspapers staff writer Susan Mende contributed to this report.

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State Education Department: www.emsc.nysed.gov/sss/pps/

residency/studentregistration

guidance082610.pdf