Mamaroneck Enrolls Immigrant Student, Stands By Eligibility Decision

MAMARONECK, NY - The Mamaroneck Union Free School District said it is waiting for a final decision from the state as to whether it must enroll a student from Guatemala in high school, even though the district has said the student has already received the equivalent of a high school education.

New York State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia issued an interim order Monday requiring the district to enroll the 16-year-old immigrant student in high school.

The student, known only as C.M., has been enrolled in and is following a full schedule at the high school, the district said.

He was living in New Rochelle and attending the high school there, after having immigrated from Guatemala. He and his family moved into the Mamaroneck school district and applied for to Mamaroneck High School.

Mamaroneck school officials denied him admission to the high school because, they said, he had already graduated from the highest level of compulsory education offered in Guatemala.

The statement from the Mamaroneck school district, in full, is as follows:

We respect the Commissioner’s decision to grant the Stay and will await the appeals process and final determination, which we realize could take several months. We continue to believe strongly that all children have the right to a public education. However, we recognize that in accordance with the Commissioner of Education’s Regulations, we are expected to make determinations of eligibility that may serve to exclude some students from enrolling in our school system. In this particular case, the District had determined that the student (based on review of his transcripts and the educational system in his country of origin) had already received the equivalent of a high school education. We support the purpose of the Commissioner’s appeal process as the appropriate means to help school districts make final determinations regarding a particular student’s eligibility.

The student has already been enrolled and is following a full schedule here at the high school, but we also recognize that the Commissioner’s decision to uphold the Stay has no bearing on the merits of this case. We will await the final determination.

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