11 NJ school districts just got sued. Are they keeping immigrant kids out?

Children of unauthorized immigrants may be illegally denied access to public schools because of discriminatory enrollment policies in 11 New Jersey school districts and one charter school, new lawsuits allege.  

The districts require all parents to provide identification such as a New Jersey driver’s license or state ID — documents that unauthorized immigrants won’t have, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said in the complaints.

In dong so, the districts violate a 1982 Supreme Court decision that forbids school districts from excluding children based on immigration status, the organization said. 

“New Jersey’s state constitution calls for free public education, and that applies to every single child – no exceptions,” said ACLU-NJ staff attorney Elyla Huertas, who filed the lawsuits. “In a state where one in five residents is foreign-born, at a time when our president has made the exclusion of immigrants a key part of his policy agenda, it’s more important than ever for every school district in New Jersey to meet its obligations.” 

The districts facing lawsuits include: 

*    Northern Valley Regional High School District (Bergen County)
*    Bellmawr School District (Camden County)
*    Sterling Regional High School District (Camden County)
*    Winslow Township School District (Camden County)
*    East Orange Community Charter School (Essex County)
*    West New York School District (Hudson County)
*    Sea Girt School District (Monmouth County)
*    Harding Township School District (Morris County)
*    Watchung Hills Regional High School District (Somerset County)
*    Montague School District (Sussex County)
*    Cranford School District (Union County)
*    Allamuchy School District (Warren County)

The lawsuits are the latest in a series of complaints filed against New Jersey districts by the the ACLU-NJ. Thirteen cases in recent years have been resolved after the districts agreed to change their policies, according to the organization. 

ACLU-NJ discovered a 2014 study that 136 school districts imposed illegal barriers to immigrant student enrollment and wrote letters asking them to comply with the law, the organization said. It issued repeated warnings that such restrictions violate students’ rights, it said. 

The latest round of suits is targeted at the districts with the most restrictive policies, the ACLU-NJ said. 

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.