The landmark ruling of Brown v. Board of Education 70 years ago that made segregated schools unconstitutional once gave hope that further integrating all public American institutions would hasten the goal of equity for all of the country’s citizens and eventually level a centuries-long imbalance between white Americans, the colonized Indigenous, descendants of enslaved Africans, and immigrants seeking the promise of a better life.
But decades after that ruling, de facto segregation—though not the same as redlining or housing covenants—still persists in public schools nationwide, largely due to local policies and statutes that have long been at fundamental odds with the Supreme Court ruling. And while many of these policies do not target education specifically, their residual effects spill over into how Americans pursue education, and chip away at the right of students to a quality education.
Since Mayor Eric Adams enacted a 60-day limit for migrant families in New York City shelters, the new deadline has caused turmoil for families of children enrolling in Department of Education schools already stretched thin with resources to aid these families, critics and advocates say. And with more and more migrants arriving daily, critics say that their right to a free, quality public education is being denied because of a lack of resources. Those who do enter the system may bring down test scores, graduation rates and other crucial statistics for the public school system that determine everything from funding and resource allocation to how our school system is perceived in comparison to neighboring districts.
“What we’re seeing a lot of is Spanish-speaking families, and some other languages, from Haiti, Venezuela, Ecuador,” said Diana Aragundi, assistant director of Immigrants Students’ Rights Project at the Advocates for Children of New York. “And we’re seeing a lot of young adult men, ages 17-21, who are from Guinea or other countries in East Africa who are coming to New York and really want to go to school and want the opportunity, but it’s really hard to navigate enrolling in school.”
Advocates for migrant students estimate that as of today, roughly 36,000 students are caught in an incredibly emotional and arduous ordeal of simply trying to attend classes daily. There is, of course, the culture—and financial—shock of arriving in a new country, and perhaps not being able to speak the dominant language. And while shelter stays were never intended to be permanent, the 60-day deadline imposed by the Adams administration means that students may attend a school in one borough for 60 days and move to a completely different school in a different borough later, all while attempting to catch up and learn English—or in the case of older students—also working jobs to support their newly emigrated families.
“A lot of schools are overwhelmed,” Aragundi said. “The bigger challenge is with 60-day notices—it creates some challenges with school stability, because you don’t know where you’re going to end up. And transportation is such a big issue for students in shelter. It can be really hard to make sure the bus is on time, but if they have to move, it can take weeks for the bus to be rerouted.”
“For elementary and middle school-aged students, we are compliant with the McKinney-Vento Act, which states that students in temporary housing are entitled to placement at their zoned school. If seats are unavailable in nearby zoned schools, we are being strategic about placing students in equidistant schools with open seats that also meet our students’ needs,” the DOE said in a statement.
But a clear barrier in between is the process of enrollment. “Enrollment is the biggest challenge because a lot of families don’t know what to do,” Aragundi said. When families arrive, they are not aware of having to make the first stop at the Family Welcome Center, which processes enrollment and other formalities for students entering the school system. Even then, because there is a lack of outreach from the DOE to families, organizations like Aragundi’s step in as support, she said.
The DOE points to a number of efforts to assist migrant families with their transition. “Regardless of their immigration status or language spoken at home, every student deserves access to high-quality schools that meet their unique needs. As we have done since we launched Project Open Arms, we will continue to work with students, families, and partners to ensure that newcomer students have what they need in our public schools and that our schools are well equipped to support these needs,” the DOE said in a statement.
“If schools need additional support, we work with them directly to closely monitor their needs and distribute funds on an as needed basis,” said a DOE spokeswoman.
Even with efforts from the DOE to support migrant families, there is not enough to support the unique social challenges that migrant students face when they are in the classroom, some critics say.
“In the public schools, every parent has an issue, but because of the issue of Black and Brown kids, immigrant students are not fully supported,” said Darnell Benoit, director of the Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project. “There’s always a problem with different groups of students, and that’s where the system fails.”
Benoit has worked alongside immigrant students for more than 20 years, going back to her early work as an English as a Second Language teacher. Echoing Aragundi, she has noticed that adolescent boys are among the most affected—particularly from Haiti, from where she hails.
“If you’re an immigrant student and you come here at 16 and 17 and up, you have a hard time finding a high school that can really support what you need. You think it’s easy to just learn English, pass the exams and graduate high school. But when [migrant students] come, they’re not like their peers. Just because you’re 17 doesn’t mean you had a 17-year education.”
Benoit said teenage boys, regardless of where they’re born or where they come from, are still teenage boys: Raging with emotion, hard-headed, stubborn, and trying to navigate it all—doubly so if they are put in positions to support a family with needs in a new country.
They are the ones most at risk of “wandering around the city,” sometimes falling victim to crime and violence.
“It’s as if no one cares,” Benoit said. “It’s like, if you’re in public school, you’re 17 and cannot read, no one cares. You come here when you’re seven, it’s no problem. You come here when you’re 10, it’s not a problem. But for older students, graduation rates are very low and dropout rates are really high.
“People are tired of immigrants in New York City,” Benoit added, even more bluntly. “And it’s a shame. It’s hard, it’s a challenge with the lack of services for Black migrants, but Black migrants get less.”