3 Camden County School Districts Sued For Alleged Discrimination
The ACLU of New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against three school districts in Camden County that require state identification in violation of state law, the ACLU announced on Thursday.
The Winslow Township, Sterling and Bellmawr public school districts all require Social Security numbers or valid immigration status as a condition for students to enroll in school, a requirement that New Jersey law clearly forbids, according to the ACLU.
They were among 12 school districts across the state that were named in the lawsuit. The organization said it sued only the 12 school districts with the most restrictive policies, but that there are several others that impose improper requirements that hinder enrollment by immigrant parents.
“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, both to New Jersey’s families and to the Constitution.”
Dan Long, the attorney who represents Bellmawr and Winslow, said he has received a copy of the lawsuit and is reviewing it. He had no further comment Thursday afternoon. An attorney representing Sterling didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The Sterling and Bellmawr school districts were also on the list in 2014, when the ALCU conducted audits of the state’s 560+ school districts to identify problematic enrollment requirements, the organization said. A similar audit was conducted in 2008, but they weren’t on the list at that time. Despite previously appearing on the list, they weren’t sued at the time, Huertas said.
According to state code, a school district is not permitted to request specific identification when it comes to determining a child’s residency. Parents are only required to prove residency based on what they are eligible to provide. Parents must also provide the child’s age and immunization history.
In the last four years, the ACLU has sued 13 districts that had policies similar to those challenged in this suit. In each instance the case settled after the district agreed to change its policy, according to the ACLU.
The ACLU is calling on all of New Jersey’s school districts to remove unlawful barriers from their registration forms, and requests that the state Department of Education devote resources to ensure that school districts follow the constitutional and statutory mandate to educate all children regardless of immigration status.
The complete list of school districts named in the lawsuit filed on Thursday is as follows:
• 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 links to the individual claims against the Camden County schools can be found below:
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