Equity & Diversity A National Roundup

Detained Children Assured Schooling

By Mary Ann Zehr — September 04, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has agreed, in a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, to meet several standards in providing schooling for children at a detention center for undocumented immigrants in Texas.

“The students are going to have five hours of classes every day,” said Vanita Gupta, a staff attorney with the ACLU, in describing the stipulations in the Aug. 26 settlement.

The agreement also says the 100 or so children at the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility in Taylor, Texas, will receive an education based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards. It guarantees that students will have certified teachers or teachers enrolled in a program to become certified.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a branch of the U.S. Homeland Security Department, released a statement on Aug. 27 saying it had already implemented many of the changes contained in the settlement agreement.

Ms. Gupta said that before her organization filed a lawsuit in federal court in March against the federal government regarding the conditions at the facility, a number of nonprofit organizations had said the schooling was inadequate. Children received only one hour of instruction per day and teachers weren’t certified, she said.

But she said the center had responded to the criticism and made improvements in education before the ACLU filed the lawsuit and since then.

See Also

See other stories on education issues in Texas. See data on Texas’ public school system.

Related Tags:

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Equity & Diversity When Graduation Dress Codes Clash With Students' Cultural Expression
Students have sued to wear culturally significant items at graduation, and some states have also passed legislation protecting the practice.
5 min read
A teen boy in a red graduation cap and gown wears an eagle feather on his neck. He stands outside among classmates.
Elijah Wiggins wears an eagle feather, a gift from his grandfather, at his graduation from Cedar City High School on May 25, 2022, in Cedar City, Utah. Utah is one of a growing number of states that have passed laws to allow students to wear items of cultural or religious significance during graduation ceremonies.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Equity & Diversity Schools Are Part of the Biden Administration's Plan for Combating Antisemitism
The call to action for schools is part of a first-of-its-kind federal strategy.
4 min read
A hand-drawn swastika is seen on the front of Union Station near the Capitol in Washington.
A hand-drawn swastika is seen on the front of Union Station near the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 28, 2022. Such vandalism is part of a nationwide rise in antisemitic incidents the White House wants to address.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Equity & Diversity State Chief Targets DEI Initiatives. Here's How District Leaders Are Responding
Some Oklahoma superintendents are concerned about the state's reporting requirement on DEI spending.
7 min read
Lessons on the dry-erase board in history teacher Kala Hester's classroom at Millwood High School on April 20, 2022 in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma schools will have to report all DEI-related spending, per a new rule.
Lessons on the dry-erase board in history teacher Kala Hester's classroom at Millwood High School on April 20, 2022 in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma schools will have to report all DEI-related spending, per a new rule.
Brett Deering for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor To Recruit Black Teachers, We Need Black Leaders
A math teacher explains why Black leaders play a significant role in recruiting and retaining Black educators in this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week