'Reject this rule': OK schools want to make parents report citizenship status to enroll kids

28 January

Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters, Image via screengrab/X.

In Oklahoma, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters — a far-right Christian nationalist — has aggressively pushed a program to teach fundamentalist Christianity in public schools. Now, Walters is, according to CNN, applauding a proposed rules change that would require parents to report their immigration or citizenship status when enrolling their children in those schools. And the proposal is getting a strong pushback from the National Immigration Law Center and others.

The Oklahoma Board of Education is expected to vote on the proposal this Tuesday, January 28.

CNN's Eric Levenson explains, "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 longstanding policy."

Levenson adds, "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."

On Monday, January 27, Walters reiterated his support for the proposal in an official statement.

Walters claimed, "Schools are crippled by the flood of illegal immigrants and the Biden/Harris open border policy. Oklahomans and the country elected President Trump and we will do everything possible to help put Oklahoma students first."

But Nicholas Espíritu, deputy legal director for the National Immigration Law Center, voiced his vehement opposition in a January 17 letter to the Oklahoma Department of Education.

Espíritu wrote, "All children have a constitutional right to equal access to education regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. 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. For these reasons, I respectfully urge you to reject this rule."

Read the full CNN article at this link.

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