California school districts questioned for seeking students’ immigration status

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Civil rights groups asked California’s attorney general Monday to investigate dozens of school districts across the state that required parents to provide children’s Social Security numbers, their citizenship status and when they entered the country.

Requiring families to provide such information not only raises legal concerns but can cause a “chilling effect,” deterring parents from enrolling children in school, said the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and California Rural Legal Assistance.

Dublin Unified, Antioch Unified, Orinda Union and La Honda-Pescadero Unified were among the 79 districts identified in the letter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

“We strongly urge Attorney General Becerra to use the full power of his office to ensure that school districts immediately stop these practices,” said Deborah Escobedo, senior attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, in a statement. “Fear about the family’s immigration status should not obstruct a child’s constitutional right to attend our public schools.”

Dublin Unified requests children’s Social Security numbers as well as the date they first entered a U.S. school. Antioch asks if students were citizens at birth, while Orinda asks if students are currently citizens.

Illegals in the news.