Butler Schools Accused of Discriminating Immigrant Families

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey has accused the Butler School District of discrimination against immigrant families.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday, will be heard at 9 a.m. Tuesday in front of State Superior Court Judge Stephan C. Hansbury in Morristown.

The ACLU-NJ alleges the school district discriminates against immigrant families by requesting parents to show a driver's license photo ID or other state or county-issued identification when they enroll their children for school.

"While school districts may require proof of residency, the Constitution and state regulations mandate that public schools provide equal access to students regardless of their or their parents’ immigration status," according to an ACLU-NJ statement released Monday afternoon.

The parents would need to have a Social Security number or have valid immigration status in order to obtain one of these ID cards.

"The Butler School District continues to stand by a policy that wrongly blocks certain children from the classroom based on the immigration status of their parents, even though the law unambiguously forbids it," ACLU-NJ Senior Staff Attorney Alexander Shalom said.

"Fortunately, most school districts operate within the bounds of established constitutional law, which for more than 30 years has upheld the right of all children to attend public schools, regardless of their background or origin."

Butler Superintendent Mario Cardinale could not immediately be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

The ACLU-NJ seeks an emergency injunction to allow immigrant families to register their children during the enrollment period this week for the 2014-15 school year.

The ACLU-NJ conducted telephone surveys in 2008 of more than 500 New Jersey school districts and found 139 of them, including Butler, required documents that indicated immigration status.

The New Jersey Department of Education has since reminded districts to allow families to register, regardless of immigration status. The ACLU-NJ alleges the Butler district has refused to rescind its policy even after being told the practice of requiring the photo documentation was unlawful.

"Because public schools play a fundamental role in strengthening our communities and our democracy, the New Jersey Constitution entitles all young residents to a public education regardless of where they or their parents were born," ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero said.

"Requiring a parent’s photo ID is a needless barrier to an education that not only violates the Constitution, but also undermines the ideal that public schools serve all of the children in a community."