Mamaroneck Must Enroll Student from Guatemala, State Says

MAMARONECK, NY - The state education commissioner ordered the Mamaroneck Union Free School District to enroll a 16-year-old student from Guatemala in its high school.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said the child was enrolled in Mamaroneck High School Tuesday morning.

“This order should send a strong message to school districts that they have a constitutional obligation to provide education to all students no matter where they’re from,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman, in a statement on the organization’s website.

The child, known only as C.M., was attending New Rochelle High School when he moved with his family into the Mamaroneck district.

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 student had only received a middle school education; he didn’t have a high school diploma.

A petition was filed by the NYCLU May 11 asking the commissioner to direct Mamaroneck to enroll C.M.

See the full report on the New York Civil Liberties Union website here.