With President Donald Trump intensifying immigration enforcement efforts, focusing on immigrants at work sites and street corners throughout California, his government is now shifting its focus to adult learners.
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In a memoEarlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education announced that individuals without legal status are to be excluded from federally supported career and technical education classes, English language programs, and high school equivalency courses. Adult schools provide these programs to anyone aged 18 or older, including immigrants, and numerous school administrators believe the new rule might result in reduced enrollment. California's K-12 school districts may also have to make adjustments, as they rely on federal funding to provide a variety of career and technical education classes that teach skills like welding and farming.
The updated policy creates administrative difficulties for these institutions, as they do not ask students to demonstrate their legal status. Several students, including those who are U.S. citizens, do not have the necessary documentation.
"It will continue to create an environment of fear," remarked Randy Tillery, the economic mobility director at the non-profit WestEd, which assists in gathering data for the state.
Last week, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the state isfiling a lawsuit regarding the new policy.
The U.S. Department of Education declined to provide a statement regarding the new policy. In apress release, the department stated it will begin enforcing it on August 9.
Adult education programs request students to voluntarily provide their Social Security numbers, which are only accessible to individuals legally authorized to work in the United States. According to Tillery, approximately 10% of the over 500,000 adult learners enrolled in classes in California choose to share their numbers with their respective schools.
Schools throughout the state claim they are awaiting further instructions from state and federal authorities before excluding students from any classes.
What if you don't come back?
V., a learner at Huntington Beach Adult School, has been enrolled in an introductory English class for the last two years, attending in person from Monday to Thursday, with sessions lasting two and a half hours each day. V. consented to the interview under the condition that CalMatters does not reveal her identity, as she lacks legal status and is concerned about being deported.
Her three children, who are U.S. citizens, found it unbearable to think about their mother attending school this summer due to the risk ofimmigration raids loomed"Cuando tomé mi mochila para ir a la escuela, mis hijos dijeron: 'No vayas, mamá. ¿Y si no regresas?'" le dijo a CalMatters en español, con la voz temblorosa y a punto de llorar.
Last month, she wrote a message to her instructor, explaining that due to "unmanageable anxiety," she had to take the course remotely. "I was, I am, and I remain afraid to go out of (my home)," she mentioned later.
Typically, her class includes around 40 students, but this summer, the number has dropped to 24, as reported by her teacher. The class is being broadcast live, and more students are choosing to enroll in the course remotely, the teacher noted. CalMatters is keeping the teacher's identity confidential to protect V.'s privacy.
It was more challenging to concentrate during online classes, V. mentioned — her children frequently interrupted the live stream or something on the computer drew her attention away. After approximately two weeks of online schooling, V. went back to in-person classes, even though her kids were worried.
Steve Curiel, the school's principal, stated that the institution is currently permitting students without legal immigration status to enroll, pending further clarification from the education department regarding the updated policy.
For a month, adult schools have been dealing with uncertainty regarding federal policy and financial support. Federal funding for adult schools is usually provided annually, starting on July 1st, and can account for up to 30% of a school's budget. The education departmentwithheld the moneyfor a month, prompting California's top prosecutor Rob Bonta tosueEducation Secretary Linda McMahon. On Friday, the department announced that it would startdisbursing the funds this week, however, the legal case remains active, as stated by Elissa Perez, a representative from Bonta's office.
"We're feeling hopeful, but we're still holding our breath a bit because we want to witness the actual disbursement of the funds," said Curiel. He was set to start reducing contracts at Huntington Adult School on Friday but mentioned he will now delay the process.
It will continue to create an environment filled with fear.
Several states completely depend on the federal government to support English-language learning and high school equivalency initiatives for adults, while California has a financial buffer: The state allocates more than $650 million annually exclusively for adult education, making up the majority of funding for California's adult schools.
Keeping teenagers from attending classes
The new policy from the education department regarding adults without legal status might also impact high school students. While most of the federal funding involved is intended for adults attending English classes and obtaining high school equivalency, career technical education is funded through a different source called Perkins funds, which supports hundreds of high schools throughout the state. According to the education department's memo, funding for these programs should be limited to students who are legal residents or citizens.
An estimated 150,000 childrenApproximately 3 to 17-year-old individuals residing in California without legal documentation, as reported by the Migration Policy Institute. The majority are currently attending school.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plyer v. Doe mandates that K-12 school districts offer all students, irrespective of their immigration status, "a fundamental public education," yet the recent memo from the U.S. Department of Education states that career and technical courses are no longer classified as part of a "basic" education. Additionally, the memo indicates that students without legal status are now barred from enrolling in college-level classes while in high school.
In order to enforce the education department's new policy, public K-12 schools would have to inform certain students that they are ineligible for particular classes based on their legal status. According to Tillery, this would result in "a significant challenge for schools," as they typically do not inquire about students' legal status. He mentioned that public schools would need to collect information regarding which students are legal residents and which are not, potentially discouraging some students from enrolling in school altogether.
The U.S. Department of Education did not provide answers to CalMatters' inquiries regarding how schools should react or what enforcement measures could entail. The Los Angeles Unified School District mentioned that it is "waiting for additional guidance" from the state's education department, which also refused to make a statement.
For V., the English classes focus more on her family than anything else, she mentioned multiple times. Her daughter is about to turn 11 and favors speaking English rather than Spanish, although she has a speech disorder and finds it challenging to communicate in either language. V. expressed her desire to be able to converse more in English with her daughter, hoping it could make a difference, even though there are risks involved in attending the classes.
We aren't experiencing our own lives," stated V. "We are living for our children.
This article was originally published on CalMattersand was reissued under theCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
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