Hempstead schools ordered to enroll immigrant students in state probe

The Hempstead school district must immediately enroll immigrant children, quickly assess their abilities and discontinue the use of wait-lists, or the state Education Department may remove its leaders -- an ultimatum the agency gave for the first time in the monthslong controversy.

The orders were delivered in a Feb. 17 letter to school board president Lamont Johnson and Superintendent Susan Johnson in the department's joint investigation with the state attorney general's office into school enrollment procedures. The district officials are not related.

"Failure to complete each of the above actions as directed could result in removal from office pursuant to Education Law 306," the letter said.

A board member or school officer, including the superintendent, may be ousted if it is proven to the education commissioner that there was "willful violation or neglect of duty or the willful disobedience of a law or a decision, order, or regulation of the commissioner or rule of the Board of Regents," according to state law, the department said.

The attorney general's office, in a separate announcement regarding immigrant students and enrollment practices, said Thursday it had reached agreements with 20 school districts across the state. No districts on Long Island were among them. Hempstead remains under investigation.

"Quite simply, you can't discriminate against children based on their immigration status," Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said at a news event in Brooklyn. "The first rung of the ladder to becoming a law-abiding, taxpaying citizen or resident alien is education."

The 20 districts agreed to drop inquiries into students' citizenship and/or immigration status and to develop new procedures and training for staffers who are responsible for registration.

State, federal mandate

State law dictates that all children between the ages of 5 and 21 are guaranteed a public education in the community in which they live, as long as they have not already obtained a high school diploma.

Federal law mandates that their citizenship not be a factor in enrollment.

The Education Department's letter to Hempstead marks the first time the agency has called on any individuals to take responsibility for the registration debacle -- which began at the school year's start in September, when at least 30 immigrant students were repeatedly turned away.

It requires both the board president and the superintendent to submit monthly affidavits, starting Feb. 27, saying the district is adhering to the law. The letter did not give any date by which the department may seek to take action against any administrator.

"I will comply with the state and the office of the attorney general to make sure we are in compliance with their orders," Lamont Johnson said when reached by phone Thursday.

The school system came under state scrutiny after Newsday reported it had denied access to the immigrant children, many of whom were unaccompanied minors from Central America who had entered the country illegally and were resettled with relatives or sponsors residing in the district.

Schneiderman's office just last week reported that three parents, representing six children, had recently complained about enrollment holdups.

Influx of new students

Hempstead administrators have said they were overwhelmed with a rush of 1,500 new students when schools opened in the fall, though that number has not been independently confirmed. Some classes had as many as 50 children, they said, many of whom struggled to find a seat.

In October, the district opened a "transition school" at 100 Main St. in Hempstead Village. No plans were in place for students to make up the class time they had lost, and parents expressed concerns about the facility being separate and program offerings being unequal.

Nearly 1,000 of the newcomers spoke limited English, the superintendent said in a statement Thursday.

"Despite complaints, we are not aware of any students who have not been served and there is no 'waiting list,' " Susan Johnson added. "We hope that this situation will help those students who have not been registered to come forward and be immediately registered."

Lucas Sánchez, Long Island director of New York Communities for Change, an advocacy group, said the state's threat is overdue.

"We wish they would have said this in October when the original list of 33 students was made public," he said. "We believe Superintendent Johnson needs to be removed."

Board president Johnson has said the district "has to be a little more efficient" in enrolling new students.

Hempstead served 6,705 students in the 2013-14 school year, before the new arrivals.

With Matthew Chayes