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Friend --
With
most of our students in school already or headed back today, AAI
wants to be sure that every
student has a successful year and that families are ready to respond
to any incidents of bigotry, discrimination or First Amendment
violations related to their child’s education.
Under Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, students are protected from discrimination based
on their race, skin color, religion or national origin. Nearly 20
years after Title VI was first enacted, the Supreme Court confirmed,
in Plyler v. Doe, that Title VI’s protection also extends to those who
were foreign-born which means public schools cannot refuse to admit a
student based on their immigration status.
Students are free to express
their religious beliefs; this includes wearing a hijab, crucifix or
yarmulke. If English is not your first language, schools must
provide language
help. Parents,
you also have the right to receive communication from your student’s
school in YOUR primary language.
Other areas of concern relate
to how the First Amendment is applied or violated in relation to
student expression. This can range from monitoring the online activity
of students to attempts to suppress advocacy for Palestinian human
rights on college campuses.
You have every right to feel
SAFE at school. Please see
our compilation of resources
below for more information or click
here for more information. If you
have a specific incident occur, feel free to contact me
directly.
Suher Adi
If you feel like
your student’s rights have been
violated at school, use the resources
below:
Resources about how to support immigrant and/or
undocumented school children from
UNIDOS-US:
Free speech on
campus and student privacy resources from the American Civil
Liberties Union:
“Let us
Learn” Resources from The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law:
http://www.aaiusa.org/
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