District cited by NYCLU in report

JOHNSTOWN -A Greater Johnstown School District official said a New York Civil Liberties Union citation alleging the district had a barrier to immigrant children was false and cleared up some time ago.

District Superintendent Katherine Sullivan said Tuesday her district contacted the NYCLU to clarify there was no problem.

"We have never, ever turned away a student," Sullivan said.

The Greater Johnstown School District was the only school district in the tri-county area cited by the NYCLU in a report it issued July 23.

In its analysis, the NYCLU said that school registration requirements in at least 20 percent of public school districts across New York state may be unlawfully barring or discouraging the enrollment of immigrant students. The school districts are asking for information that would reveal a parent or child's immigration status as a prerequisite for school enrollment, an NYCLU release stated.

The release said the Johnstown district was listed as an "offender" district in this area - one of 139 districts surveyed among the state's 694 school districts - that asks either "directly or indirectly" for proof of a parent or child's immigration status.

Sullivan said the Johnstown district used to request people fill in their Social Security numbers when children are registered for kindergarten. She said that practice isn't being done anymore, and it only was required initially because the state Education Department used Social Security numbers for student identification.

"We're not requiring it," Sullivan said. "We have since taken that requirement off the registration form."

She said the NYCLU equated what Johnstown was doing with discrimination against immigrant children. She said the district responded to the NYCLU and the discrepancy was resolved.

"We have rectified that," Sullivan said.

The release used the Oxford Academy and Central Schools, between Binghamton and Syracuse, as an example that mandates children provide their Social Security number when registering.

"While this may not appear to discriminate, undocumented children are ineligible for Social Security numbers and are therefore unable to register," the release said.

The release said NYCLU lawyers "started reaching out to the state Education Department as early as September 2009 about failure to adequately protect all students' right to a public education, but the department has consistently failed to respond adequately to the situation."

Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com.

Member Comments

View Comments: | 1-12 | Post a comment

ChiefDJ
07-31-10 9:02 PM »Report Abuse	We don't need any more immigrants. We have too many people here already. Ever notice all the traffic on the highways, airports, welfare lines, ER's, etc? It's about time we looked out for our American Citizens and stopped worrying about the law breakers who enter the USA illegally or overstay their VISAS (not the credit card "VISAS"), and get lost in "the crowd."
rocky1
07-31-10 7:10 PM »Report Abuse	This will continue as long as all we do is comment on it on a newspapers blog and don't stand up and yell back. Silence means we accapt, vocal says enough is enough.
Brockert
07-31-10 5:04 PM »Report Abuse	We are well past the point of insanity. We can't ask students for SS#'s? Really? Once again, we are afraid to have rules. We wouldn't want to offend illegal non-citizens. About as smart as closing Tryon and sending the little criminals home for "counseling" instead of incarceration. Yeah, put them back in the environment that produced these little burdens on society in the first place. You have got to love the whole Liberal mindset. Nobody is responsible, just a victim.
ButterscotchBaggins
07-31-10 4:22 PM »Report Abuse	Firelady58, You have got to be kidding. You can't possibly be THAT slow. (Okay, you can.) So I'll spell it out for you: I was being facetious!
bleeckermel
07-31-10 3:22 PM »Report Abuse	Unbelievable! Why NOT Require being an American & having SS # for FREE Education?? WHY should NON Americans get free education & lots of free free free. Everyday there are Citizens going to school hungry!! It's TIME TO TAKE BACK AMERICA FOR AMERICANS! Maybe we should Send the statue of liberty back to France who still owe us money from WW2! they can take the poor, tired, hungry that don't want to work!
firelady58
07-31-10 3:12 PM »Report Abuse	NYCLU stands for New York Civil Liberties Union, not Criminal Liberties Union.
ButterscotchBaggins
07-31-10 1:22 PM »Report Abuse	Don't you folks get it. This is supposed to be the task of the New York Criminal Liberties Union. It's their mandate.
Overtaxed
07-31-10 11:21 AM »Report Abuse	Yet another example of how we are expected to reward criminal behavior. They are NOT immigrants they are CRIMINALS. People need to stop thinking with their hearts and start using their brains.
Scarecrow57
07-31-10 10:24 AM »Report Abuse	What part of ILLEGAL don't these people understand. We shouldn't be paying one thing dime to anyone in this country illegally. In fact, send them back from where they came.
Musicel
07-31-10 9:51 AM »Report Abuse	The NYCLU sometimes gets carried away. This was totally absured!
bleekerbob
07-31-10 9:09 AM »Report Abuse	If thestudent is in the country ILLEGALLY they should not be enrolled until they are LEGAL. This is that simple. What part of illegal dont these beuracrats get?
NoSenseAtAll
07-31-10 8:35 AM »Report Abuse	so whats wrong with keeping track of the child by using social security number ?? how else would we not know if the newly enrolled child is not a runway or missing from another local...

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