Irving, Texas Losing Students Due To Immigration Crackdown?
The Dallas Morning News had an interesting story Sunday about the declining student population in Irving, Texas. Speculation is that the decrease, which will cost Irving money in state funding, is due to the city's crackdown on illegal immigrants. As you know, Irving has been reporting to Immigration Services whenever an undocumented alien is stopped for a traffic ticket or for any other criminal offense. Hundreds of Irving residents have been deported recently. Here are excerpts from the story:
The Irving school district has lost 656 students since the end of September, and officials attribute the decline to a crackdown on illegal immigrants and the shutting down of aging apartment complexes.
School officials said they don't know exactly why hundreds of students have disappeared since the district hit its peak enrollment of 33,189. But the losses outpace previous years. Last year, Irving schools lost 283 students during the same period.
Superintendent Jack Singley said a city code-enforcement crackdown on declining apartments where many low-income families live may have caused people to leave town. And some immigrants may have left Irving because they feared deportation.
"We're watching our enrollment very carefully," Mr. Singley said. "This probably will be the toughest year to predict future enrollment for many reasons. There are many changes in our community."
School administrators are concerned because they stand to lose state funding, which is based on how many students attend school each day.
The superintendent and principals have tried to assure parents that their children are safe at school. Mr. Singley raised concerns early in the year that deportations were causing parents to go "on the run" and withdraw children from the schools.
"I think the reason is the climate in Irving," school board president Michael Hill said. "If parents are pulling their kids out of school for fear of what they're hearing throughout the city, my concern is: Are the kids in school at all?"
The school district's students are about 73 percent economically disadvantaged and 67 percent Latino this year. Many of them are the children of immigrants.
About 39 percent of students are classified as limited English proficient, the highest in North Texas. The district continues to go through considerable change, losing white students as it gains Hispanics.
Mr. Singley reassured parents in a letter that the school district does not assist law-enforcement officials with deportations.
