BILL NUMBER: S8597
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting children
from being denied access to a free public education due to citizenship
or immigration status
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would affirm the right of every child to receive a free public
education, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status,
prohibit schools from admitting immigration enforcement to school prop-
erty or a school function without a valid judicial warrant or subpoena,
and require schools to take steps to protect students.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 3201-b to the education law to prohibit
schools from denying a free public education to any child on the basis
of their immigration or citizenship status.
Subdivision 1 of 3201-b provides definitions of school, school property,
school function, immigration authorities, and child.
Subdivision 2 provides that no child may be denied admission into any
school in the state of New York on the basis of their perceived or actu-
al citizenship or immigration status, or the perceived or actual citi-
zenship or immigration status of their parents. Further, the subdivision
prohibits schools from excluding students from programs or activities on
the basis of their or their parents' immigration status, or engaging in
policies or procedures that have the effect of excluding students or
parents from participating in programs or activities, including parental
engagement activities. These policies and procedures include requesting
or collecting information about students' or their parents' citizenship
or immigration status unless otherwise required by law, and designating
certain information as directory information.
Subdivision 3 prohibits schools from threatening to disclose information
about a student's actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status
or the status of a person associated with them, or disclosing such
information to immigration authorities or another entity if they do not
have direct knowledge of the student's actual status, and prohibits
schools from disclosing anything related to the records or information
about the immigration status or a student or someone associated with
them unless required by law.
Subdivision 4 prohibits schools from allowing immigration enforcement to
enter school property or a school function without a valid judicial
warrant or subpoena.
Subdivision 5 requires each school within 30 days of the enactment of
this bill to adopt procedures for reviewing requests from immigration
authorities to enter school property or a school function. These proce-
dures must include: contacting a lawyer to review documentation provided
by immigration authorities, monitoring and documenting all interactions
with immigration authorities while they are on school property or at a
school function, and notifying and seeking consent from a student's
parent if immigration authorities request to access a student. Further,
schools must have a procedure in place to notify parents about the
protections provided by this bill, and school staff about the procedures
in place.
Subdivision 6 requires schools to attest to NYSED within 60 days that
they have complied with the requirements of subdivision 4.
Subdivision 6 grants the Attorney General enforcement power, including
the power to subpoena individuals and records in order to investigate
and bring a civil case.
Section 2 provides a severability clause.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe (457 U.S. 202) that
denying undocumented students access to a public education violated the
equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. For more than 40
years, this precedent has guaranteed access to a free, public education
for immigrant students without regard to legal status nation-wide. New
York's constitution similarly guarantees all children access to public
education: "the legislature shall provide for the maintenance and
support of a system of free common schools, wherein all the children of
this state may be educated."' Unfortunately, the Trump administration's
attacks on our immigrant communities have threatened the spirit of Plyl-
er v. Doe, if not yet the actual case law, and the protections of our
state constitution.
Shortly after taking office, President Trump revoked a long standing
policy that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) would not conduct immigration enforcement
actions in or near sensitive areas, including schools.2 This change in
policy, coupled with aggressive and indiscriminate enforcement activity
has left many families understandably scared to send their children to
school. Research in California has found declines in attendance associ-
ated with immigration raids.3
The State Education Department, Attorney General's Office, and Office of
Governor Kathy Hochul released guidance for schools in January 2025,
reminding them of their obligations to protect students under Plyler v.
Doe, and state and federal law.4 This bill seeks to strengthen
protections in state law for undocumented students, their families, and
students in mixed status families, to the extent possible under state
law.
This legislation amends the education law to provide that no child may
be refused admission or excluded from any school in New York on the
basis of their immigration or citizenship status, strengthening the
protections found in the state human rights law.5 This applies to all
public schools, charter schools, BOCES, Special Act schools, schools for
the Blind and Deaf (4201s), and schools for students with disabilities
(853s and 4410s). Further, the bill prohibits schools from having in
place any policy or practice which has the effect of excluding students
or their families from school or school activities on the basis of immi-
gration status.
The bill prohibits schools from admitting immigration enforcement to
school property or a school function if they do not have a valid judi-
cial warrant or subpoena. To that end, it requires schools to establish
a procedure for reviewing requests from immigration enforcement to enter
school property, including contacting the school's attorney to review
whether the authorities have a valid warrant or subpoena, procedures to
monitor immigration enforcement's activity while on school property, and
procedures for notifying and requesting consent from the family of any
student immigration enforcement requests access to. Additionally,
schools must have a procedure in place to notify families of the
protections for their children. The bill also grants enforcement author-
ity to the Attorney General, allowing the AG to bring a case on behalf
of an injured party.
This bill is modeled after a recently adopted Illinois law,6 and
includes similar protections to California's law,7 and would provide
some measure of safety and security to immigrant families in our commu-
nities.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
1 Article XI, Section 1
2 https://www.dhs.govinews/2025/01/21/statement-dhs-spokes person-
directives-expanding-lawenforcement-and-ending-abuse
3 https://www_nytimes.com/2025/06/16/us/immigration-raids-school-
absences-deportation-fears.html
4 https://www.nysed.govisites/default/files/oag-qo-sed-immiqration-
students.pdf
5 Exec law § 296(4)
6 Illinois House Bill 3247 (2025)
7 As amended by Assembly Bill 49 (2025)