RALEIGH — House Bill 744 requires parents and guardians of incoming public school students to furnish a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate, as well as proof of immunization. The bill became law last week without Gov. Bev Perdue’s signature.
The Safe Students Act, introduced by House Speaker Pro Tem Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, originally included a provision requiring parents “to state whether the child is a citizen or national of the United States,” and if not, provide the immigration status of the child. Folwell, who has introduced similar legislation in each of his four House terms, told Carolina Journal that the purpose of the bill was to get a handle on the cost of illegal immigration to the state’s public school system.
“If you look at the census data, the rate of illegal [immigrants moving to North Carolina] exceeded California, New Mexico, and Arizona in the last decade,” Folwell said. “Our role as policymakers is to figure out why North Carolina is a magnet for illegal immigration.”
That provision of the bill was removed by the House Education Committee.
“The last piece [of the bill was] really a shot at the federal government,” says Folwell. “The states that border North Carolina are tightening up on illegal immigration.”
In June, Alabama passed a law similar to Folwell’s initial proposal. Under legislation signed by Gov. Robert Bentley, schools will be required to find out if students are in the country lawfully. The law also makes it a crime to knowingly give a ride to an illegal immigrant.
In the version of the Safe Students Act that became law, for the purpose of registering students, public school administrators can accept only a limited number of documents as secondary proof of age — either a certified copy of any medical record of the child’s birth issued by the treating physician or hospital in which the child was born; or a certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a church, mosque, temple, or other religious institution that maintains birth records.
Folwell came under fire in late May by an immigration advocacy group, the N.C. Dream Team, which pushed the General Assembly to remove the immigration provision from the bill. Domenic Powell, a spokesman for the group, cited a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which found that all children are entitled to a public education, including those who are in the country illegally.
Washington also is placing pressure on local school districts that attempt to enforce immigration policies. “The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent a letter warning school districts not let enrollment policies lead to the exclusion of students based on their immigration status,” reported the Winston-Salem Journal June 1.
“Illegal immigration is a huge financial burden on our state,” Folwell said. “[W]e have become a magnet for illegal immigration because of stricter policies in border states, and that people brag about their illegality. … Any dollar spent on illegal [immigrants] is a dollar unavailable to law-abiding citizens.”
Kristy Bailey is a contributor to Carolina Journal.