Edmonton public school board wants Alberta to guarantee undocumented children a right to attend school

The Alberta government should change education law to ensure undocumented children have access to school in the province, Edmonton public school trustees say.

Following pleas from advocates who say children are being denied an education in Edmonton, the board voted to ask Alberta's education minister to change the legal definition of a resident student in the province.

"It doesn't matter what decisions their parents have made," Trustee Jan Sawyer said at a board meeting on Tuesday. "We have to do everything we can to see those kids are in school."

Whitney Haynes, executive director of the Alberta Workers Association for Research and Education, advocates for precarious workers and undocumented families in the province.

Hayne said a couple of years ago, a family approached her, saying their children had been removed from school after their immigration status changed. She said she now knows of nine children in Edmonton who were either refused entry to school or told to leave school because of their immigration status.

Each case is different, she said. A family may have come to Canada under a student visa, claiming refugee status or as temporary foreign workers. If their claim to stay is denied, the family is left in limbo while they're appealing to federal agencies, which can take a long time, she said. Many are scared to return to their home country for fear of violence or poverty, she said.

Haynes said education is a human right. She thinks Alberta's Education Act is discriminatory because it has a blind spot for undocumented children living in the province.

At a school board meeting last month, families and advocates urged the school board to keep undocumented children learning.

They pointed to other Canadian school boards, which have created sanctuary policies that pledge not to discriminate against students based on their immigration status, and resist sharing information with immigration authorities.

Student Areana Capata, 13, told trustees on April 15 she has three siblings who haven't been able to attend school for two years, and she worries that she is next.

Her siblings are denied the simple joys of making friends and learning, and Capata worries whether they will ever catch up with their learning.

"We're not asking for special treatment," she said. "We're just asking for a chance."

An administrative report to the school board says Ontario's Education Act requires schools to admit children, even if the child or their parent is illegally in Canada.

B.C. law says students are eligible for school enrolment and public funding if they or their guardian owns or leases property, are employed, have a driver's licence or pay taxes.

Administrators note that Alberta's law and school funding policies lack these provisions.

Alberta's Education Act says schools can consider enrolling a non-resident student if there is space in a school, "resources" to accommodate them, and all resident students have been accommodated first. Boards also have the right to charge non-resident students tuition fees. Non-resident students are ineligible for provincial funding.

Haynes said the school board could also choose to enrol undocumented students as "non-resident students" and charge a nominal fee for their attendance. Edmonton public currently charges international students $13,000 a year to attend one of its schools.

Trustees want other boards to join advocacy

Edmonton public trustees unanimously agreed on Tuesday to ask Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides to propose Education Act amendments that allow school divisions to enrol undocumented students, and for the provincial government to fund their education.

They also agreed to ask other school boards and organizations like the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) to join their advocacy efforts.

In a statement on Tuesday, Edmonton Catholic Schools spokesperson Christine Meadows said access to education for undocumented students is a "complex and sensitive issue."

She said the board will welcome students to the fullest extent allowed by provincial law. Meadows did not answer a question about whether that board has taken any steps to advocate for changes.

An ASBA spokesperson said the organization, which has 65 member school boards in Alberta and Yellowknife, hasn't yet taken a position on undocumented students and doesn't know how many boards consider the issue a priority.

In a statement sent Tuesday, Minister Nicolaides said funding schooling for children from outside Canada aims to balance fiscal responsibility and compassion.

"Alberta's criteria for funding education for newcomers is intended to be open and generous, and most children are eligible for a funded education in the province," his statement said.

He said the only instance a child wouldn't have funded education is when they arrive in Alberta as a tourist or visitor.

Edmonton public school board chair Julie Kusiek said his response doesn't account for undocumented children.

"That's the group of children that we want to advocate for at a provincial level to see the changes required so that they can receive the same kind of education as their peer down the street," she said.