Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Migrant advocates demand revision of Saugus school admission policy
The policy violates state and federal law, the advocacy groups said. State officials are working with Saugus to "clarify enrollment requirements."
Two advocacy groups are demanding that the Saugus School Committee immediately revise an admission policy that they say places an “undue burden on immigrant and mixed-status families” and violates their constitutional rights.
Last August, Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency due to the influx of migrants to Massachusetts and the strain it was placing on the state’s emergency shelter system. Two days later, the Saugus School Committee adopted a student admission policy that requires all students to be “legal residents whose actual residence is in Saugus.”
The policy states that families who move to Saugus must complete the town census to register their children for public schools. Parents or guardians of new students must also provide documents demonstrating proof of residency, occupancy, and specific identification documents such as a valid Massachusetts driver’s license or U.S. passport.
Advertisement:
Under the policy, the superintendent is empowered to conduct investigations if there is a question of residency. Students found to be in violation of the residency requirements will be removed from the town’s public schools. Anyone who violates the rules is subject to “all applicable criminal and civil penalties” and restitution.
Migrants keep coming
Massachusetts continues to be a popular destination for migrants despite officials like Healey saying that there is no more room for those seeking shelter. After the emergency shelter system reached capacity last fall, a waitlist was put in place and overflow shelters were set up around the state for those hoping to secure a spot.
Advertisement:
The system remains near capacity, and Healey recently implemented new policies limiting the time that many families can stay in overflow shelters to five days. The governor is facing backlash from advocate groups representing homeless and migrant families.
As of June, there were 72 families living in Saugus shelters, hotels, and motels according to state data. Saugus Public Schools enrolled 23 students residing in the state’s emergency shelter system in the 2023-2024 school year, according to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education records.
Violation of the law?
The Saugus School Committee received a letter last Thursday from two groups, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children, claiming that the admission policy’s town census, residency, and proof-of-identity requirements violate federal and state law. Officials were urged to revise the policy before the new school year starts on Aug. 27.
“Denying children the right to go to school is not only cruel, it’s also illegal,” Legal Director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children Diana Santiago said in a statement accompanying the letter. “School districts should be welcoming students, not making harmful and misleading statements designed to deter enrollment.”
Saugus School Committee Chairman Vincent Serino defended the policy Monday in a statement to Boston.com.
Advertisement:
“Saugus, like most other communities, has an admission policy in place that ensures that our students are residents of Saugus and not of surrounding communities. This policy clearly states that no child who actually resides in Saugus will be denied access to school due to immigration status, nor by law would it apply to homeless students who are entitled to an education here. This is both our policy and practice,” he said.
State officials are in touch with Saugus school officials regarding the matter.
“All school districts in Massachusetts are required to ensure students have equal access to a free public education regardless of their or their parents’ immigration status. DESE is contacting the district to clarify enrollment requirements,” a DESE spokesperson said in a statement to Boston.com Monday.
‘New students are entitled to a public education’
State law dictates that every person has a right to attend the public schools of the town where they reside. In response to the surge of migrant students entering Massachusetts schools, DESE officials released a memo in 2022 stating that new students are entitled to a public education regardless of their parents’ immigration status and should be enrolled as quickly as possible despite an anticipated lack of paperwork.
Advertisement:
Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, public schools must immediately enroll homeless students living in the district, unless it’s in their best interest to remain in their “school of origin.”
The Saugus policy specifically states that its requirements do not apply to students entitled to attend the town’s public schools under the McKinney-Vento Act. It also clarifies that no child who “actually resides” in Saugus will be denied access to schooling because of their immigration status or the immigration status of their parents or guardians.
Saugus Superintendent Michael Hashem’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
In their letter, the advocacy groups said that the policies still create a “chilling” effect on migrant and mixed-status families.
After Healey’s announcement of the new overflow shelter stay limits last month, officials in Norfolk said that children living temporarily at one such shelter in the former Bay State Correctional Center would not be enrolled in the town’s public schools. However, that position was reversed after clarification from the state.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com