Educating Students of Undocumented Workers

Jennifer Black
EDUC 6380- Ethical Issues Paper

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Educating Students of Undocumented Workers

Introduction
Every child in the United State is entitled to an education. The federal government leaves
education up to the states, and every state has rules about education. Article ten of the Utah
Constitution addresses public education. Section one of that Article states in part that, The
Legislature shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of the state's education systems
including: (a) a public education system, which shall be open to all children of the state (Utah
Const. art. X, S 1). The Utah Constitution clearly states that every child that live in the state will
be educated. Most other states have similar laws.
Every child is entitled to an education, even those children belonging to undocumented
workers, or illegal immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security estimates undocumented
school-aged children at 1.1 million, although other reports put the numbers as high as 4.5 million
(Reyes, 2014, para. 2). These children are allowed, without question, in public schools, but not
all of these children are welcomed. There are many who oppose allowing undocumented
children to receive public educational services.
Allowing children of illegal immigrants in schools creates an ethical dilemma. These
children are here at opposition to the law, but the law is seen to support them by allowing their
participation in public schools. This is a dilemma that has been addressed in different ways by
federal and state governments. Because the rights and interests of a large number of people are
at stake, this issue will continue to be debated. There are clear guidelines and points that

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educational leaders should consider when dealing with the children of undocumented workers in
their schools. The bottom line is that every child deserves an education.

Cultural/ Historical Context

Children of undocumented workers are allowed in public schools in the United States.
This is the result of a key decision from the Supreme Court, Plyler v. Doe. This decision has
been challenged through the years, but still stands to provide these children their right to an
education.
Plyler v. Doe was the result of a Texas school district adopting a policy that
undocumented families would have to pay tuition for their children to attend public school.
Several students from Mexico could not prove that they were in the country legally and could not
afford to pay the tuition. They banded together to bring a lawsuit against the state. The case
finally ended up in the Supreme Court.
On June 15, 1982, the Supreme Court made their decision in Plyler v. Doe in favor of the
schoolchildren. The decision stated that illegal immigrants, or aliens, can, claim the benefit of
the Equal Protection Clause, which provides that no State shall "deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Whatever his status under the immigration laws, an
alien is a "person" in any ordinary sense of that term (Cornell University Law School, n.d.).
Undocumented children have been allowed in public school since the Plyler decision.
That doesnt mean that states have always agreed with that decision. In 1994, Proposition 187
passed in California. This proposition prohibited schools to admit students who were not

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lawfully in the United States, and to report them to immigration officials. In 1996, in Padavan v.
U.S., the state of New York sued the federal government seeking reimbursement for educational
costs of illegal immigrants. They argued that they were educating 530,000 children of illegal
immigrants at a cost of $5.6 billion for one year, and the government was responsible because
they did not do enough to stop illegal immigration (Utah State Office of Education, 2008). In
2006, an Illinois school district denied enrollment to a student who had an expired tourist visa. A
2011 Alabama law required schools to determine the immigration status of newly enrolled
students (Immigration Policy Center, 2012). All of these measures were overturned or halted,
but the arguments continue.

Stakeholders
This issue affects many stakeholders. Undocumented students education is at stake.
Teachers and schools face added work in serving these additional students. Taxpayers shoulder
the added expense of these students.
Undocumented students are the ones with the most at stake in this ethical dilemma. The
Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe expressed the plight of these students best:
The Texas statute imposes a lifetime hardship on a discrete class of children not
accountable for their disabling status. These children can neither affect their parents'
conduct nor their own undocumented status. The deprivation of public education is not
like the deprivation of some other governmental benefit. Public education has a pivotal
role in maintaining the fabric of our society and in sustaining our political and cultural
heritage; the deprivation of education takes an inestimable toll on the social, economic,

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intellectual, and psychological wellbeing of the individual, and poses an obstacle to
individual achievement (Cornell University Law School, n.d.).
Undocumented students are powerless to change their immigration status, so they should not be
held accountable. Furthermore, without an education, these students have a bleak future with
few choices.
The teachers and administrators of schools that these undocumented students will attend
are also stakeholders in this issue. In many cases, the increased number of undocumented
students puts a strain on the limited school resources. For instance, in Lynn, Massachusetts,
immigrant students rose from 36 to 538 in the 2011-2012 school year, which was enough
students to require an additional school building, although no extra funds were given to the
district for the building (Tea Party Patriots, 2014). These immigrant students often speak a
language other than English, which creates other challenges for teachers and administrators.
Because many undocumented students live in poverty, schools must also provide for many of
their physical needs. All of the extra services and work add to the teacher workload.
Taxpayers are also stakeholders in this issue. Officials from many different states express
concern over paying to educate students whose parents do not pay taxes. They have limited
resources, which have to stretch to provide for illegal immigrants. Maine Governor Paul LePaige
stated that, it is wrong for the federal government to force a higher burden on the people of
Maine to pay for those who come to our country illegally (Tea Party Patriots, 2014). Roy Beck,
president of Numbers USA, an anti-immigration group, said, "it just seems to send a message to
the world, 'We are here to protect those who break immigration laws and we're going to do
almost nothing to enforce it (Reyes, 2014, para. 5).

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Addressing the Issue
For an educational leader, the only option to address this dilemma in the schools is to
follow the law. All students who live within school boundaries, regardless of documentation,
must be enrolled. This course of action also addresses the ethical dilemma quite well. Children
deserve to have an education, and our country will be worse off if they do not receive it. An
educational leader will need to be persistent in informing taxpayers of the benefits of providing
an education to these students. Teachers will need support to overcome the extra burden, but
these professionals are capable of meeting this challenge. Allowing undocumented students in
school is the right thing to do for children.
Educators have an ethical responsibility to do what is best for children. Refusing
education to any group of children would be unfair. Undocumented students are not the ones
making choices where their immigration status is concerned. It makes no sense to punish them
for a situation that is beyond their control. Refusing to enroll these students would also severely
limit their future. Attorney General Eric Holder explained that excluding immigrant children
from school, weakens our nation...by leaving young people unprepared and ill-equipped to
succeed and contribute to what is, in many cases, the only home they have ever known (as cited
in Reyes, 2014, para. 1). Educating all students is the ethical choice.
Many taxpayers will continue to be concerned about this choice. While these concerns
are important to note, they dont necessarily validate their arguments. While undocumented
workers may not pay the same share of taxes as citizens, they do pay state and local taxes, which
contribute to education funds. Also, this is an education issue, not an immigration issue.
Keeping children out of schools will not solve the illegal immigration problem. An educational

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leader needs to make sure that they advocate for these students and communicate the benefits
that providing an education will give to all citizens.
There is no way around the burden that these extra students place on the educational
system. Undocumented students will still require educational funds. They will still have
language barriers and extra social support needs. Teachers will need support to meet the needs of
these students. Educational leaders need to make sure that they are communicating with their
teachers. They need to provide professional development on dealing with diverse student
populations. They need to lobby the district and government for additional resources and funds
to meet the needs of the undocumented students, and their teachers. Though difficulties exist,
they are not insurmountable.

Conclusion
As the new school year is approaching, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U. S.
Department of Education (2014) reminded school districts about requirements for admitting
students for schooling. They stressed that students may be required to show proof that they
reside in the district where they are enrolling, but they, and their parents, should not be required
to show proof of citizenship. This is the law, and it needs to be followed.
Ethically, this is the best choice for educators. It is the best choice for children. The
Lopez family was one of the plaintiffs in Plyler v. Doe. The children, who are now grown, are
grateful for the education that they received in the United States, and are now legal, productive,
U.S. citizens. One of the men made the point that, if we lost the case, you would have had a
bunch of illiterate kids running around here (Tpt National Productions & Insignia Films, 2013).

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Refusing to educate the children would have put greater burdens on taxpayers. Educating
undocumented students is the best choice for children, as well as society.
Meeting the needs of children of undocumented workers in the educational system is
difficult, but not impossible. The benefits far outweigh the burdens. The ethical choice is to
educate these students.

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References
Cornell University Law School. (n.d.). Plyler v. Doe /Legal Information Institute.
Retrieved July 31, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/457/202
Immigration Policy Center. (2012, June 15). Public Education for Immigrant Students: States
Challenge Supreme Courts Decision in Plyler v. Doe. Retrieved July 31, 2014, from
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/public-education-immigrant-students-stateschallenge-supreme-courts-decision-plyler-v-do
Reyes, R. (2014, May 12). Immigrant right to education reaffirmed: Column. USA Today.
Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/05/12/raul-reyesimmigrant-education/8971407/
Tea Party Patriots. (2014, July 31). Straining a School near You: Illegal Immigrant Surge
Overwhelming Public Education | Tea Party Patriots. Retrieved July 31, 2014, from
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/all-issues/news/straining-a-school-near-you-illegalimmigrant-surge-overwhelming-public-education/
Tpt National Productions., & Insignia Films. (2013, March 25). Constitution USA: Created
Equal [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-petersagal/equality/education-illegal-immigrants/#.U923SVabdss
U.S. Department of Justice., & U.S. Department of Education. (2014). Dear Colleague Letter.
Utah Constitution. Article X. Section 1.
Utah State Office of Education. (2008). Utah school law update: Immigrant education.
Retrieved from http://www.schools.utah.gov/uppac/Newsletters-Archived/08Feb.aspx