Eau Claire School Board Passes Non-Discrimination for Immigration Status Resolution

The Eau Claire School Board voted last night, March 6, 2017, to pass a new "Non-Discrimination For Immigration Status" resolution, allowing any student, regardless of immigration status, to have access to a free education in the Eau Claire School District.  

The following is the resolution posted on the Eau Claire School District's website via BoardDocs:

Let it be known that we are a welcoming school district - every single child and family in the ECASD is affirmed and valued. Diversity is a treasure and equity is at the core of who we are as a community.

WHEREAS, it is the right of every child, regardless of immigration status, to access a free and appropriate public PreK-12 education and the District welcomes and supports all students;

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court held in Plyer v. Doe (1982) that no public school district has a basis to deny children access to education based on their immigration status, citing the harm it would inflict on the child and society itself, and the equal protection rights of the Fourteenth Amendment;

WHEREAS, migration to this country is often propelled by social, economic, and political factors and native country conditions and thus immigrants and their families are entitled to compassionate and humane treatment in this country;

WHEREAS, Immigration enforcement activities around schools create hardships and barriers to health and educational attainment, and a pervasive climate of fear, conflict and stress that affects all students in our District, regardless of their background or status, such that children who have a status but whose family members, friends, or schoolmates do not, and students who are themselves undocumented, are all affected and at risk for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES);

WHEREAS, threats of legal action, and particularly of separation and removal, against students and their families create severe emotional, psychological and physical barriers to learning and education that can and should be allayed or reduced through support systems provided by the District and community partners;

WHEREAS, through its policies and practices, the District has made a commitment to a quality education for all students, which includes a safe and stable learning environment, means of transportation to and from school sites, the preservation of classroom hours and itinerant programming for educational instruction, and the requirement of school attendance;

WHEREAS, educational personnel are often the primary sources of support, resources, and information to assist and support students and student learning, which includes their social and emotional development;

AND WHEREAS, in its continued commitment to the protection of student privacy under the FERPA and Wisconsin guidelines, the District shall review its record-keeping policies and practices to ensure that pupil confidentiality is maintained, and no data is being collected with respect to students’ immigration status and cease any such collection that is irrelevant to the educational enterprise and potentially discriminatory;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board declares the District to be a Welcoming School District for its students, meaning that the District is a place for students to learn, to thrive, and to seek appropriate information related to any immigration law enforcement activities that interfere with their learning experience, as permitted and required by law.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being all of the members of the Board of Education for the Eau Claire Area School District, have executed this resolution this 6th day of March, 2017.