A pair of civil rights organizations that previously alleged Saugus Public Schools was illegally blocking migrant children from enrolling are now suing the district and the town for failing to turn over public records about its controversial admissions policy.
In August 2023, as an increasing number of immigrants arrived in Massachusetts, the Saugus School Committee adopted an admissions policy requiring families to complete the Town Census and to prove residency with identification documents that many newcomers lack, such as a US passport or Massachusetts driver’s license. The policy also threatens anyone caught violating these rules with “all applicable criminal and civil penalties,” and restitution “based upon the costs of educational services provided during the period of non-residency.”
The civil rights organizations, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children, argue the admissions policy, which also states Saugus students must all be “legal residents,” violates state and federal law. After hearing from immigrant families struggling to enroll their children in the district, the attorneys for the advocacy groups sent a letter to the Saugus School Committee last month, calling on members to immediately revise the policy. They have also asked the attorney general to investigate it.
School Committee Chair Vincent Serino has defended the policy, previously telling the Globe it “ensures that our students are residents of Saugus and not of surrounding areas.” Serino noted the policy states no child who resides in Saugus will be denied access to the schools based on their immigration status. The policy also says its residency requirements don’t apply to homeless students. But attorneys for the civil rights organizations say the policy is too onerous, and has resulted in numerous children missing months of class time or unable to access transportation to and from school.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of the two organizations, asks the court to force the district to immediately turn over internal policies, forms, and school committee emails and texts related to the admissions policy in response to a public records request they submitted in May.
“The public has a right to know why the Saugus School Committee approved this illegal policy in the first place and how it is being used to exclude young children from school,” Erika Richmond Walton, an attorney with Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in a statement. “Transparency is critical, particularly when the government is violating the rights of vulnerable schoolchildren.”
The US Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that all children, regardless of their immigration status, have a right to a free public education. The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act also requires public schools to immediately enroll any homeless student “actually living” in the district, unless it’s in their best interest to remain in their “school of origin.”
This means families of students living temporarily in emergency shelters have the right to enroll their children in the school district where the shelter is located. They also retain the right to keep their children enrolled in those schools when they move away. The law bars districts from denying enrollment solely because students are living at temporary shelters.
Yet some school districts have resisted enrolling migrant students, particularly in light of the state’s rules limiting shelter stays to five days. In July, the Norfolk town administrator said its schools would no longer be enrolling students living temporarily at a shelter in the former Bay State Correctional Center following Governor Maura Healey’s announcement on the limitations. The town reversed its stance two days later, citing clarification from the state.
The Saugus School Committee unanimously approved the new student admission policy last year, just two days after Healey declared a state of emergency due to the rapid increase in migrant families seeking shelter in Massachusetts.
Under the McKinney-Vento Act, districts must cover the cost of transporting students who elect to remain in their “school of origin” in another city or town. The state has provided districts enrolling migrant students with emergency financial assistance at a rate of $104 per student per day, along with transportation reimbursements. Saugus Public Schools received more than $222,000 in emergency state aid last school year, according to state data.
Deanna Pan can be reached at deanna.pan@globe.com. Follow her @DDpan.