Bolandi denies intent but will change enrollment forms
By Vic Monaco, Managing Editor
The East Windsor Regional School district is among 187 statewide that are “breaking the law by asking for information that would reveal a parent or child’s Social Security number or immigration status as a prerequisite for enrollment,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
State Department of Education Commissioner Lucille Davy is “very disturbed” by the alleged actions of districts across the state and the DOE is exploring possible punitive steps, including withholding aid.
”East Windsor was recognized in our survey because the district’s (enrollment) form asked for citizenship information and a date of entry to the United States,” ACLU-NJ spokeswoman Allison Peltzman said Tuesday.
Superintendent Ron Bolandi said Wednesday that the district is immediately changing forms that are “pretty standard through the state” and have been used by the district “forever,” to remove those two questions.
”It’s much ado about nothing, at least with our district,” he said. “The ACLU is concerned that districts are depriving education to the undocumented. We’d never do that. We educate, every single day, undocumented kids.”
ACLU-NJ released its findings Tuesday, after sending letters Aug. 29 to Commissioner Davy and the 187 districts, asking them to more aggressively enforce the laws that stop schools from requesting Social Security numbers or immigration status.
”The law is clear — so why are so many schools still illegally requesting this information?” ACLU-NJ Racial Justice Attorney Nadia Seeratan, who oversaw the group’s study, asked in a press release. “The Constitution promises every child in the United States a right to education; requiring proof of citizenship as a condition of enrollment breaks that promise.”
In response, DOE spokeswoman Kathryn Forsyth said: “The commissioner is very disturbed at the large number of school districts that the ACLU says are still doing this, since the districts have repeatedly been told that it is expressly forbidden by law and code.”
Ms. Forsyth said letters will be sent to the 187 districts, “advising them that it has been reported to the department that they are asking for this information and telling them to cease immediately.
”We are exploring options such as withholding state aid should violations be identified, and DOE will be developing a system to monitor this requirement ourselves.”
The DOE spokeswoman explained that parents must present proof that they live in a district in order for their children to attend school there, but that proof could be a copy of a lease or a utility bill in their names mailed to an address within the district.
[vmo: easily cut for space: ]”But under state law and regulations, the district cannot require Social Security numbers, tax returns or any other information relating to citizenship,” she said. “In fact, because the words ‘required’ and ‘requested’ are easily confused and because ‘optional’ could easily be considered ‘mandatory’ by someone new to our education system, we have told the districts to remove all references to this kind of information from their Web sites and registration forms.”
The New Jersey School Boards Association responded Wednesday, both defending the districts but also promising to take action.
”We do not believe there was any flagrant intention act to violate state regulations on the part of local school officials,” said NJSBA spokesman Frank Belluscio. “While school districts understand that no child can be denied attendance due to immigration status, some might not have been aware that state regulation prohibits seeking certain information, particularly Social Security numbers.
”As a service, the New Jersey School Boards Association will inform its members of the existing state regulations, as well as the sample forms developed by the state Department of Education, which comport with those rules.”
David Abalos of East Windsor, a leader of the area’s Hispanic community, said he was surprised and skeptical of the ACLU study, claiming the district rectified the problem several years ago.
”Four or five years ago, we had meeting with people in the district and they said, ‘you’re right,’ and they backed off,” he said.
”It is true they were breaking the law but that was at least four years ago,” he added. “Since then I have never heard a complaint.”
Mr. Bolandi said the meeting referred to by Mr. Abalos must have occurred before his arrival in the district about four years ago.
[vmo: easily trimmed for space: ]Mr. Abalos specifically commended Superintendent Bolandi and Hightstown High School Principal Alix Arvizu for being supportive.
[vmo: ditto: ]”Mr. Bolandi has hired at least six or seven Spanish-speaking faculty,” he said.
Hightstown Mayor Bob Patten, who has made rights for undocumented residents a personal priority, said he was not ready to respond to the report.
”Before I comment on it, I would like to speak with Hightstown’s school board members, Susan Lloyd and Suzanne Fallon, to find out what really is happening about the registration process,” he said.
Beginning in July, the ACLU-NJ says it attempted to survey 635 school districts throughout the state to assess the legality of their enrollment requirements. The group said it was able to contact 516 school districts.
The survey found that 139 school districts required information that would reveal the Social Security number or immigration status of students seeking to enroll, according to ACLU-NJ. Another 48 districts suggested that immigration information would help in the registration process, the group said.
At least 35 school districts in the state requested Social Security numbers or immigration information on their written enrollment forms, according to Ms. Peltzman.
The ACLU reported that Monmouth County was the worst offender, with 26 districts requiring citizenship or immigration-related information to enroll.
When the ACLU-NJ conducted a similar survey for the first time two years ago, it said it found that 58 of the 224 school districts surveyed, not including East Windsor Regional, required proof of a child’s immigration status. Of those, nearly two-thirds said they would remove sections of their enrollment forms asking for students’ status, according to the ACLU. In this year’s follow-up survey, 21 of the offending school districts from 2006 still required that information, including Trenton.
It is those alleged repeated offenders, Ms. Forsyth said, that are the most concern to the DOE.
ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs said in a press release: “New Jersey, as one of the most diverse states in the nation, has a special obligation to make sure all children, from every background and walk of life, can have a solid education.”

