In conclusion
Adult students without legal status are no longer permitted to enroll in some courses, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Changes may also affect teenagers in public K–12 districts.
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President Donald Trump’s administration is focusing on adult students as it increases immigration enforcement, targeting immigrants at street corners and workplaces around California.
In amemoThe U.S. Department of Education declared earlier this month that federally sponsored vocational technical education programs, English-language courses, and high school equivalency courses must not be offered to adult students without legal status. Anybody over the age of 18, even foreign nationals, can enroll in these courses at adult schools, and many school administrators fear that the new rule may result in fewer students. Since California’s K–12 districts rely on federal funds to provide a large number of career technical education classes that teach skills like farming and welding, they may also need to adjust.
Since these schools don’t require students to provide proof of their legal status, the new regulation presents administrative issues. U.S. citizens are among the many students who lack the required identification documents.
According to Randy Tillery, director of economic development for WestEd, a nonprofit that assists in data collection on behalf of the state, it will continue to foster this climate of fear.
Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, stated last week that the state is implementing the new policy.
Regarding the new policy, the U.S. Education Department declined to comment. The agency stated in a press statement that it will begin enforcing it on August 9.
Students who attend adult education programs are asked to voluntarily provide their Social Security numbers, which are only accessible to those who are legally permitted to work in the United States. About 10% of California’s more than 500,000 adult learners willingly provide their institutions their numbers, according to Tillery.
Before denying students access to any classes, schools throughout the state said they are awaiting additional direction from federal and state authorities.
What if you don t return?
For the past two years, V., a student at Huntington Beach Adult School, has been attending an in-person, two-and-a-half-hour-per-day, beginner-level English language class Monday through Thursday. V. consented to the interview on the understanding that CalMatters would not reveal her identity since she lacks legal status and is afraid of being deported.
With the possibility of immigration raids looming, her three U.S.-citizen children couldn’t bear the thought of their mother attending school this summer. My children implored, “Don’t go, mom,” as I picked up my backpack to leave for school. What happens if you don’t come back? She spoke shakily and almost sobbed as she told CalMatters in Spanish.
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She informed her teacher in a note last month that she had to take the subject online due to unmanageable anxiety. She later stated, “I was, I am, and I still am afraid to leave (my house).”
According to her teacher, her class typically consists of forty kids, but this summer, there are only twenty-four. According to the instructor, more and more students are choosing to take the course online, and the lesson is livestreamed. To protect V.’s confidentiality, CalMatters is not revealing the teacher’s name.
V. claimed that she found it more difficult to concentrate when attending classes online since her children frequently interrupted the livestream or distracted her by something on the computer. Despite her children’s concerns, V. returned to in-person classes after roughly two weeks of online learning.
The school is permitting children without legal status to attend, at least for the time being, until the education department gives further clarification regarding its new policy, according to principal Steve Curiel.
Adult schools have been dealing with uncertainties around federal financing and policy for the past month. Up to 30% of a school’s budget is provided by federal financing for adult education, which normally arrives annually with the fiscal year starting on July 1. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued school Secretary Linda McMahon after the school department withheld the funds for a month. According to Elissa Perez, a spokesman for Bonta’s office, the case is still pending even though the department said on Friday that it will start releasing the funds this week.
Because we want to see the actual transfer of the monies, we’re feeling hopeful but are still holding our breath a little bit,” Curiel added. On Friday, he was going to start reducing Huntington Adult School contracts, but he stated that he would now wait.
It will continue to foster this fearful environment.
California has a financial cushion because the state provides over $650 million annually for adult education, which accounts for the majority of funding for California’s adult schools. In contrast, many states rely solely on the federal government to fund adult English-language learning and high school equivalency programs.
Refusing to let teenagers attend classes
High school pupils may be impacted by the education department’s new policy on adults without legal status. Hundreds of high schools throughout the state participate in professional technical education, which is funded by a different pool of money called Perkins funds, even though a large portion of the federal funding in question supports adults enrolled in English classes and high school equivalency courses. According to a memo from the education department, only students who are citizens or legal residents should be eligible for funding for those programs.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 150,000 children between the ages of 3 and 17 reside in California but do not have legal status. Nearly all of them are enrolled in school.
The U.S. education department stated in the memo that career technical classes are no longer regarded as part of a fundamental education, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court case Plyer v. Doe mandates that K–12 school systems provide all pupils, regardless of their legal status, with a basic public education. Additionally, the letter states that high school students without legal status are no longer allowed to enroll in college-level courses.
Public K–12 schools would have to inform some pupils that they are not permitted to enroll in particular subjects due to their legal status in order to execute the education department’s new policy. Tillery stated that since schools don’t inquire about students’ legal status, it would cause a great deal of trouble for them. He claimed that the requirement for public schools to collect information on who is and is not a legal resident would discourage some pupils from going to school at all.
When CalMatters asked how schools should react and what enforcement may entail, the U.S. Education Department did not reply. The Los Angeles Unified School District said it was awaiting further guidance from the state s education department, which also declined to comment.
For V., the English classes are about her family more than anything, she said repeatedly. Her daughter is about to be 11 years old and prefers to speak English over Spanish, though she has a speech impediment and struggles to communicate in either language. V. said she wants to be able to speak more English with her daughter, hoping it might help, despite the risks of going to class.
We re not living our own lives, said V. We re living for our children.
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