In Toronto: Keeping Secrets to Keep Kids in School

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The Toronto Star

June 14, 2008 Saturday

Don't ask, don't tell

SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. AA04



There are an estimated 80,000 illegal immigrants in Toronto, many of them parents of children who by provincial law are entitled to go to school. But too many children are still being denied access to Toronto public and Catholic schools because their parents don't know their children are entitled to an education, concludes a report by Toronto's Community Social Planning Council.

The study was launched after four children were apprehended by immigration officials in April 2006 at two Toronto Catholic schools and subsequently deported with their families.

The council found in a survey that four of 17 children were denied enrolment in public schools because of their immigration status. Four different schools refused one parent. Fifteen parents were asked to provide proof of immigration status, and eight of them were unaware of their children's legal rights. Others were too fearful to argue.

That comes despite the public board's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, adopted with much fanfare last year. Under the policy, parents are not required to prove their status. Furthermore, if staff become aware that a student is an illegal immigrant, they are not required to share that information with law enforcement or immigration officials.

However, the public board maintains it needs information on immigration status to receive funding for ESL programs and to determine whether international tuition fees (of up to $12,000 a year) should apply. But there are other ways to gather this information.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said this week that no child should be denied access to an education. But obviously the Education Act, which guarantees that access, is not being enforced. The Catholic board even requires staff to make copies of parents' and students' passports.

The social planning council is urging the education ministry to take steps to ensure that all school boards in the province follow the law and to consider a province-wide "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

These steps should be pursued forthwith. Children of illegal immigrants are among the most vulnerable in the province and ought not to shoulder the blame for their parents' illegal status.

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