4 days ago
Teachers' union files complaint against NM school after questions about student's immigration status
ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) – A local teachers' union wants to know why a New Mexico school district is asking students about their citizenship status. The union has now filed a complaint against the district, hoping to get more answers. 'We would like to prevent it from happening again,' said Mary Parr-Sánchez, President of the National Education Association of New Mexico (NEA-NM).
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In an effort to prepare students for real-world jobs, Española Public Schools has used optional career-readiness programs that help connect students with potential future employers. One of those programs is a standardized test called the ACT WorkKeys Assessment. To take the test, students must provide personal information. 'Collecting demographic information on students is not out of the norm,' Parr-Sánchez said. 'Like, if they're male or female, how old they are, their ethnicity, that type of thing. That is normal demographic information.'
What's not common are questions related to students' citizenship status. But, according to a group of teachers with Española Public Schools, as part of the assessment, the district directed teachers at Española Valley High School to ask students for their country of origin, and their 'alien registration number'.
'We were contacted by educators and their leadership from Española that Española Valley High School was asking teachers to collect immigration data,' Parr-Sánchez explained.
According to Parr-Sánchez, a former teacher with 25 years of experience, and someone who's administered standardized tests, these types of questions raised concerns. As the current president of the NEA-NM, a local teachers' union, she's taken steps to figure out who sent the directive, and why, by filing a complaint with the state. The district has until June 2nd to formally respond.
'They were terrified to be asked to give private information about their students,' Parr-Sanchez said about the teachers who brought the incident to her attention.
The union argues the incident goes against a bargain reached by the district and teachers' union, arguing the directive is out of educators' agreed-upon 'work conditions.' They also believe it violates FERPA, a federal law that protects student privacy.
'Our mission is to educate every child that comes to our schools regardless of their race, ethnicity, country of origin,' Parr-Sánchez added.
Española Public Schools said they've started an investigation into the concerns and will take appropriate action if any violations are found. It's unclear who, or why the directive was sent out. The district sid they are unable to comment further, as the investigation takes place.
NEA-NM provided KRQE News 13 with a quote from the ACT testing group, that states 'ACT does not ask for, or collect information about examinees immigration status… this is not a requirement for taking our exams and is not information we collect or use in any way.'
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