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School Opening Alert

In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Plyler v. Doe [457 U.S. 202 (1982)] that undocumented children and young adults have the same right to attend public primary and secondary schools as do U.S. citizens and permanent residents.  Like other children, undocumented students are required under state laws to attend school until they reach a legally mandated age.  As a result of the Plyler ruling, public schools may not:

• Deny admission to a student during initial enrollment or at any other time on the basis of undocumented status;

• Treat a student differently to verify residency;

• Engage in any practices to “chill” or hinder the right of access to school;

• Require students or parents to disclose or document their immigration status;

• Make inquiries of students or parents that may expose their undocumented status;

• Or require social security numbers from all students as a condition of admission to school, as this may expose undocumented status.

Students without social security numbers should be assigned a number generated by the school.  Adults without social security numbers who are applying for a free lunch and/or breakfast program for a student need only state on the application that they do not have a social security number.

Recent changes in the F-1 (Student) Visa Program do not change the Plyler rights or undocumented children.  These changes apply only to students who apply for a student visa from outside the U.S. and are currently in the U.S. on a F1 visa.

Also, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits schools from providing any outside agency—including the Immigration and Naturalization Service—with any information from a child’s school file that would expose the student’s undocumented status without first getting permission from the student’s parents.  The only exception is if an agency gets a court order—known as a subpoena—that parents can challenge.  Schools should note that even requesting such permission from parents might act to “chill” a student’s Plyler rights.

Finally, school personnel—especially building principals and those involved with student intake activities—should be aware that they have no legal obligation to enforce U.S. immigration laws.

For more information or to report incidents of school exclusion or delay, call:

NCAS	Nationwide	1-800-441-7192	English/French/German/Spanish
META	Nationwide	1-617-628-2226	English/Spanish
META	West Coast	1-415-546-6382	English
NY Immigration Hotline	Nationwide	1-718-899-4000	English/Chinese/French/Haitian Creole/Hindi/ Japanese/Korean/Polish/Russian/Spanish/Urdu
MALDEF-Los Angeles	Southwest/Southeast	1-213-629-2512	English/Spanish
MALDEF-San Francisco	Northwest	1-415-546-6382	English/Spanish
MALDEF-Chicago	Illinois	1-312-782-1422	English/Spanish
MALDEF-San Antonio	Southwest	1-210-224-5476	English/Spanish
Florida Parent Hotline	Florida	1-800-206-8956	English/Spanish/Haitian Creole

This flyer is available in English, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese at 1-800-441-7192.

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Manchester School District and The Title 1 Program in collaboration with The Parents as Teachers Program are sponsoring:

Family Playtime:
Summer Playgroups for Families and Children

Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30 to 11:30

Beech St. School (Mon.)
Northwest School (Wed.)

• Age appropriate play areas
• Activities to take home
• Books to borrow
• Information booths
• Make new friends

Please register for playgroups by calling (603) 624-8082

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As the nation remembers the September 11^th tragedy, schools and parents need to remember that our children are also remembering and coping.  Adults and children alike are dealing with different thoughts, images, and emotions.  It is important that educators, administrators, and parents be aware of how to support children during this time as well as themselves.  The Parent Information Center has provided the following links to help parents and schools prepare for the Anniversary of 9/11/01.  If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Michelle Lewis at 1-800-947-7005.

For Parents and Educators

National Association of School Psychologists

9-11 as History

American School Counselor Association

Helping America Cope

For Educators

Project Phoenix

Teaching 9-11

For Parents

UNH Cooperative Extension

Children’s Aid Society

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Caribbean Night 2001

The Parent Information Center's Second Annual CARIBBEAN NIGHT

A great time was had by everyone who attended PIC’s Caribbean Night!

The event, held at the Highlander Inn in Manchester, NH, was a successful fundraiser for the Parent Information Center. We would like to thank everyone who attended for their support.

Many people helped make this event a success.

We would like to thank our dance instructors: Nandy Carraballo, Wanda Carraballo, Pablo Marrero and Hector Velez.

Our talented DJ, Brian Mac Stravic, who provided the Latin music which had everyone up and dancing.

Our Fundraising Committee: Paul Bissonnette, Carol Davis, Lillye Ramos-Spooner, Judith Raskin, and Karen Thurston; as well as board members Diane Covell and Mick Pinard.

Lynn Bosler, Harris Burpee, Tricia DeCosta, Becky Foster, Heather Thalheimer, Tysha Johnson, Doris Marrero, Joy Raskin, Judith Raskin, Kevin Salvi, Lori Salvi, Melba Velez and Noemi Velez who worked before and during the event.

We would like to thank A.G. Edwards, 89 Amherst St., Nashua, NH 03060 for their sponsorship.

And special thanks to Tim McKinnon, who started it all!

The Parent Information Center’s Third Annual Caribbean Night will be held on Saturday, April 20, 2002. We hope you will join us next year.

PIC recently celebrated "bring your daughter to work" day.  Debi Bennis, Educational Surrogate Parent Program Director, brought her daughter Dani; Heather Thalheimer, Parent Information Resource Center Project Director, brought her daughters Sasha and Elisa; Cheryl Roth and Lyn Bolser, Resource Specialist from the Manchester office, brought their daughters Jasmine and Ashton; and Becky Foster, Central Office Administrative Assistant, brought her niece Karleen.  The girls had an opportunity to learn first hand about PIC and assist staff with their work projects.  It was a great experience for the girls as well as PIC staff.

Lori Salvi and Debi and Dani Bennis recently represented the Parent Information Center at a walk-a-thon for Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS) of Portsmouth, NH.  The purpose of this event was to raise funds for SASS and to call attention to the many victims of violence.  We are happy to report that all three completed the 3-mile journey!