Oklahoma Board of Education to vote on proposal requiring families to prove citizenship when enrolling students

The Oklahoma State Board of Education is set to vote Tuesday on a proposal that would require families to report their immigration or citizenship status when enrolling their children in school.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education is set to vote Tuesday on a proposal that would require families to report their immigration or citizenship status when enrolling their children in school. The school board says the goal of the proposal is to better understand its students’ needs. However, education and immigration advocates say they believe the proposal will make immigrant families afraid and unwelcome at public schools that are legally required to provide every child education. “All children have a constitutional right to equal access to education regardless of their citizenship or immigration status,” the National Immigration Law Center said in a statement objecting to the rule change. “Requiring school districts to collect information about immigration status illegally chills access to this opportunity, interfering with their ability to focus on their core mission: to educate children and give all students the ability to grow, thrive, and participate fully in our democracy.” The Board of Education is expected to vote on this and other rule proposals Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. CT. If approved, the rules proceed to the legislature and governor for review, per state administrative rules. The board’s proposal comes as President Donald Trump and Republican leaders have pledged to crack down on undocumented immigrants and carry out a mass deportation plan. Last week, Trump signed a series of executive orders expanding the power of immigration authorities and issued a directive allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest people in schools, a departure from long-standing policy. Oklahoma, too, has been at the forefront of a Republican push to transform public education under Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. Last year, the Board of Education required all schools to incorporate the Bible and Ten Commandments in their curriculums. And just days ago, the US Supreme Court agreed to decide whether states may reject religious charter schools from receiving public funding in a case out of Oklahoma.