https://templateshunter.com/business-operations.html
The Kentucky Legislative Research Commission’s Program Review and Investigations Committee issued a report in April 2009 in which it made the following recommendation:
see more: https://templateshunter.com/business-operations.html
The Kentucky Legislative Research Commission’s Program Review and Investigations Committee issued a report in April 2009 in which it made the following recommendation:
“Recommendation 3.1:
The Kentucky Department of Education should identify the information public
schools may legally require or request of first-time enrollees. The department
should facilitate and monitor compliance by all Kentucky school districts.”
In response, Kentucky Department of Education
(KDE) is providing the following guidance regarding acceptable forms of
identification for students upon initial enrollment in a school in Kentucky.
Kentucky law
guarantees that every child satisfying the age requirements and residing within
the state can attend a public elementary or secondary school.[1]
KRS 158.030 (emphasis added) provides:
“Common
school” means an elementary or secondary school of the state supported in whole
or in part by public taxation. No school
shall be deemed a “common school” or receive support from public taxation
unless the school is taught by a certified teacher for a minimum school
term as defined by KRS 158.070 and every
child residing in the district who satisfies the age requirements of this
section has had the privilege of attending it….
Statutory requirements for initial enrollment: KRS 158.032 (3) includes the only requirements under
Kentucky law for proof of age and identity for a student’s initial enrollment
in a school in Kentucky:
Upon
enrollment of a student for the first time
in any elementary or secondary school, the school shall notify in writing the
person enrolling the student that within thirty (30) days the person shall
provide either:
(a) A certified copy of the student's birth certificate; or
(b) Other reliable
proof of the student's identity and age, and an affidavit of the inability to produce a copy of the birth
certificate.
Examples of “other reliable proof”: Types of “other
reliable proof of a student’s identity and age” may include but not be limited
to:
Social Security
card; passport; military identification or immigration card; baptismal
certificate; copy of the record of baptism – notarized or duly certified and
which reflects the date of the student’s birth; recording of student’s name and
birth in a family Bible or other religious text; notarized statement from the
parents or another relative or guardian as to the date of the student’s birth;
prior school record indicating the date of the student’s birth; driver’s
license or learner’s permit; adoption record; any religious record authorized
by a religious official; affidavit of identity and age; any government document
or court record reflecting the date of the student’s birth; oral proof when the
native language of a parent or guardian is not a written language.
The
list of examples is not all-inclusive: It is imperative that schools
note that this list is not all-inclusive, but it will help guide schools in
determining the types of proof that would meet the statutory requirement for
proof of identify and age of the student. In the case of a student who is an
unaccompanied homeless youth, appropriate staff of emergency shelters, transitional
shelters, independent living programs and street outreach programs may offer
proof of age and identity of a student for initial enrollment purposes. When
another form of identification, not listed in the statute or in the list above,
is offered as proof of the student’s age and identity, the school principal may
make an adjudication of whether the offered identification is “reliable proof
of student’s identity and age.” Principals may contact the KDE Office of Legal,
Legislative and Communications Services at (502) 564-4474 with questions
regarding any other forms of “reliable proof of student identity and age.”
Providing
the student’s Social Security number is optional. Though a Social
Security card is an acceptable form of identification for enrollment, a school
shall not request or require a parent or guardian to provide one for
enrollment. A school shall inform the parent or guardian of the types of proof
of identity and age listed in this guidance and the procedures for approval of
any other form of proof. Schools are prohibited from asking for documentation
of immigration status for enrollment. School personnel shall not ask any
questions during enrollment that cause or could cause a “chilling effect” on
the student’s right to education. If a school enrollment form lists Social
Security card as a form of identification it will accept, then the form should
clearly state that providing the student’s Social Security number is optional,
not required. KRS 156.160 created the Statewide Student Identification (SSID) number
system because some students do not have a Social Security number or their
parents or guardians choose not to disclose the Social Security number of the
student to the school.
Exact
birth date not required: Proof of the age of the student (e.g.,
6 years old by October 1) is sufficient for this requirement for initial
enrollment. A student’s exact date of birth (month, day and year) is not required
for initial enrollment.
Right
to enrollment independent of immigration status: Each school is
responsible for notifying its staff that a student’s right to enrollment does
not depend on his/her or the parent/guardian’s immigration status. The U.S.
Supreme Court, in Plyler v. Doe, 457
U.S. 202 (1982), held it was unconstitutional for a school to deny free public
education to students who were not legally residing in the U.S., and schools
could not ask any questions during the enrollment process which would have a
“chilling effect” on a student’s right to education.
Homeless
children and youths: Pursuant
to the McKinney Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act of 2001 as
amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the term
“homeless children and youths” means individuals
who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence and includes: those
sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship
or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping
grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in
emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; are awaiting
foster care placement; have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or
private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping
accommodation for human beings; are living in cars, parks, public spaces,
abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations or similar
settings; and migratory children who are living in the previously described
circumstances.
Pursuant to 704
KAR 7:090, all school districts are required to have a homeless student
coordinator who shall “obtain all necessary records, including birth
certificates and immunization records … and place the student in appropriate
programs. In cases where records are not readily available, the coordinator
shall contact the school district(s) of last attendance for verbal confirmation
of essential information. The coordinator shall assist the homeless student to
obtain essential records which are not in existence in order that enrollment
shall not be delayed or denied.” In the case of a student who is an
unaccompanied homeless youth, appropriate staff of emergency shelters, transitional
shelters, independent living programs and street outreach programs may offer
proof of age and identity of a student for initial enrollment purposes.
Schools
must ensure understanding of requirement: Each school should notify the
parent or guardian of the requirements for proof of the student’s identity and
age and what are acceptable forms of identification and the reasons for any
refusal to enroll a student. This notice should be written in language
understandable to the general public and provided in the native language or
other mode of communication of the parent to the extent possible with
documentation of the attempt. If the native language of the parent is not a
written language, the school should take steps to ensure that the notice is
translated orally or by other means so that the parent understands the content of the notice and that there is written evidence
of the translation to the extent possible with documentation of the attempt.[2]
School districts should include the information of this guidance, and the URL
for KDE’s information on this guidance, in their handbook: http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/HomePageRepository/New+to+KY/Frequently+Asked+Questions+About+Kentuckys+School+Enrollment+Requirements.htm.
Schools
must train enrollment staff to prevent a “chilling effect”: School
superintendents are responsible for conveying the information contained in this
guidance to their local schools, and school principals are responsible for ensuring
personnel entrusted with enrollment duties are properly instructed as to these
parameters of the identification requirement. A public primary or secondary
school should not engage in any practice that would inhibit or discourage an
unauthorized alien student or any other student from attending. In general,
only minimal information, such as name and age, can be required to enroll a student
in school.
Any
refusal to enroll and reporting requirements: Any school that refuses
to enroll a student, based on a determination that the student does not have
proof of identity and age, should provide the parent or guardian with a copy of
this guidance in a language or manner that the parent or guardian understands.
Schools may want to seek the services of a qualified interpreter from local
entities with these resources. Any parent or guardian of a student who has been
refused for enrollment based on the proof of age and identification requirement
shall have a right to report the refusal to the KDE Office of Legal,
Legislative and Communications Services at (502) 564-4474. Schools that refuse
to enroll a student based on this requirement also shall report the refusal to
the KDE Office of Legal, Legislative and Communications Services at (502)
564-4474 before the close of the following business day.
Student
and parent/guardian immigration information is confidential: Any information
relevant to the immigration status of a student, parent or guardian contained
in an educational record is protected by FERPA and KFERPA, and schools are
prohibited from causing a “chilling effect” on a student’s access to education.[3]
School personnel who report suspicions regarding the legality of a student or the
parent or guardian’s presence in the United States are violating FERPA, KFERPA
and the Plyler preclusion of a
“chilling effect.”
Only
require KRS 158.032 proof for initial enrollment: KRS 158.032 only
requires proof of identification and age at a student’s initial enrollment in a
school in Kentucky. KRS 156.160 created the SSID system because some students
do not have a Social Security number or their parents or guardians choose not
to disclose the Social Security number of the student to the school. After a
student’s initial enrollment, the student’s SSID shall be used to identify the student.
A student transferring from another district or school in the state shall be
identified with his/her SSID.
[1] Federal law prohibits a state from “deny[ing] equal educational opportunity to an
individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin….” 20
U.S.C.A. 1703. “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race,
color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance.” 42 U.S.C.A. 2000d.
Federal
law also prohibits discrimination against any student who is homeless. Each
state with a compulsory residency requirement must take steps “to ensure that homeless children and youths are afforded
the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and
youths….” 42 U.S.C.A. 11431.
[2] Equal Educational Opportunities
Act of 1974 (EEOA). Section 1703(f) of the EEOA requires state educational
agencies (SEAs) and school districts to take action to overcome language
barriers that impede English Language Learner (ELL) students from participating
equally in school districts’ educational programs. The U.S. Department of
Justice, Civil Rights Division has interpreted this EEOA requirement to have
been violated by “a school which fails to communicate meaningfully with
non-English-speaking or limited-English-speaking parents and guardians of ELL
students by not providing such parents
and guardians with written or oral translations of important notices or
documents.”
Comments
Post a Comment