Alabama: students do not need birth certificates to attend school

After thousands of fearful Hispanic students failedto show up for classes on Monday in Alabama, the state’s top education official announced that children would still be allowed to attend even if they did not have birth certificates.

On Monday, in response to Alabama’s tough new immigration law that requires schools to verify a student’s immigration status, 2,285 Hispanic students skipped school – more than double the usual absentee rate.

To assuage fears and encourage children to return, Larry Craven, the state’s interim superintendent, announced on Tuesday that schools would accept children without documents.

“We would like all parents and students to know, regardless of whether the enrolling student has an original or certified copy of their birth certificate, the student will be enrolled and receive full participation in all of the academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs that will be offered by the local school system,” Craven said.

The information schools are required to collect “will not be used to individually identify your child,” but rather be used only to report “statistical data,” he added.

Last week U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn upheld many of the law’s controversial provision including a requirement that all students enrolling on or after 29 September must present their birth certificate.

In contrast, state officials have argued that federal laws require that schools cannot deny a child an education based on their immigration status, so the inability to produce a birth certificate should have no effect on a student’s ability to enroll.

Craven was also careful to note that the law does not apply to those enrolled in the state’s public school system prior to 29 September and once a student has been enrolled, “they are always enrolled unless they graduate or withdraw.”