Schools Impose New Immigration Checks

IMMIGRATION RULES HIT THE CLASSROOM: A new immigration policy at Georgia’s five most competitive colleges has so far resulted in only one illegal immigrant being turned away after being accepted. A policy adopted by Georgia’s Board of Regents last October requires that students prove legal immigration status before they can enroll at any state college that turned away qualified candidates in the past two years, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports . That currently includes the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Georgia College and State University and Georgia Health Sciences University. Georgia State turned away one student who had been preliminarily accepted, while Georgia Tech canceled the applications for three academically qualified applicants when it learned they were illegal immigrants.

In Alabama , meanwhile, a new immigration law requiring public schools to document the immigration status of their students hasn’t led to reduced Hispanic enrollment, school officials tell the Associated Press . The law doesn’t bar illegal immigrants from attending schools, but requires school districts to keep track of how many illegal immigrants are enrolled so the state can estimate the cost of educating them. Schools code students differently, based on their immigration status, Education Week previously reported .

COLLEGE PRESIDENTS DOUBLE UP: Two recently departed state college presidents in New York won’t be replaced and their campuses will be overseen by presidents of other colleges in the system, the Albany Times Union reports . Two other colleges in the State University of New York system also will share a president by year’s end. The moves come as part of a Campus Alliance Networks plan proposed by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher in January that would consolidate administrative services between state campuses. The presidents who left SUNY Cobleskill and Morrisville State College each made nearly ,000; the hope is that erasing those salaries could allow additional faculty hires.

PLASTICS PUSH INTO CURRICULUM: The plastics-industry-backed American Chemistry Council pressured California education officials to include material touting the advantages of plastic shopping bags in a statewide environmental curriculum. California Watch reports that some of the material included in the state’s text in the curriculum was taken directly from letters the council wrote. The environmental curriculum was developed by a private consultant over seven years and is currently being tested by 19 districts in California, with 400 additional districts signed up to use it in the future.

REGIONAL SUPERINTENDENTS SUE ILLINOIS: With funding for their salaries vetoed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, regional superintendents are suing the state, according to the Associated Press . The Democratic governor had hoped lawmakers would cut the regional superintendent positions. When that failed, he vetoed salaries for the 44 elected education officials who inspect schools and certify teachers, among other things, along with funding for their assistants.

PHILADELPHIA SUPERINTENDENT STEPS DOWN: The controversial leader of the country’s eighth largest school district resigned Monday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports . Arlene Ackerman had been criticized for her management style, the paper previously reported , and testing results for several schools in the Philadelphia district are being questioned by a Pennsylvania Department of Education report. Ackerman’s contract was bought out for ,000.