Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Students
California Office of the Attorney General (OAG) Resources
Guidance on Immigration Enforcement Activity on School Grounds
Quick Reference for School Officials (English | Spanish)
This two-page quick reference guide from the California OAG provides specific guidance to school officials in response to the following questions:
What to do if an immigration-enforcement officer comes to your school?
What to do if an immigration-enforcement officer requests personal information about a student or his/her family members?
"Know Your Educational Rights" Quick Reference Guide for Students and Families (English | Spanish | Chinese | Korean | Tagalog | Vietnamese)
This two-page quick reference guide from the California OAG provides specific information to students and families about their educational rights in California public schools, including as relates to immigration enforcement activity on school grounds.
This guide from the California OAG aims to equip local educational agencies (LEAs) with the information and resources needed tto provide a welcoming environment for all students and to safeguard the rights and privacy of students and their families. To this end, the guide discusses procedures for responding to actions and requests for information by any law enforcement officer for purposes of enforcing immigration laws . More specifically, the guide
(1) outlines relevant state and federal protections for students and families,
(2) provides policy recommendations that comply with federal and state laws and that may mitigate disruptions from immigration-enforcement actions at public schools,
(3) provides model policies adopted by California LEAs,
(4) includes a quick reference guide on responding to on-campus immigration enforcement activity and requests for student and family information, and
(5) includes a “Know Your Educational Rights” page for students and families.
California Department of Education (CDE) Resources
California Department of Education: Including Immigrant Families webpage
This CDE webpage shares information and resources to help local educational agencies (LEAs) preserve access to education for students from immigrant families during times of increased fear of immigration enforcement.
California Department of Education: Migrant/International Education webpage
This California Department of Education (CDE) webpage shares about CDE's supplemental programs designed to strengthen the school, community, and family experiences of migrant and international children and their families, including CDE's Migrant Education Program and Binational Migrant Education Program (an international program between the Mexico Secretary of Public Education of Mexico and CDE).
California Department of Education: Our Schools: Resources for Including Immigrant Families
This CDE toolkit provides family-facing posters that communicate assurance of all schools’ obligation to provide every child with access to education and a safe learning environment, regardless of immigration status, as well as guidance for best practices when immigration agents are present on school sites. The posters and office counter cards in this toolkit include
- content regarding protection of students’ and families’ privacy,
- guidance from the Attorney General about how to respond if immigration agents are present,
- information about caregiver affidavits,
- recommendations for updating school safety plans, and
- additional valuable resources.
HETAC Resources
Supporting Evacuee and Refugee Children and Youth Under McKinney-Vento
This HETAC tip sheet recommends strategies for determining the McKinney-Vento eligibility of evacuee and refugee children and youth, suggests best practices to ensure the immediate enrollment and appropriate class placement of McKinney-Vento eligible evacuee and refugee children and youth, and shares resources for more information.
Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Students Experiencing Homelessness (archived webinar)
This January 2023 HETAC webinar, hosted by the Contra Costa County Office of Education in collaboration with SchoolHouse Connection, explores the educational rights of immigrant and refugee students, best practices to help newcomer students join their schools and feel welcome, and immigrant legal services and resettlement supports.
Other Resources
California Department of Social Services: Refugee Programs Bureau webpage
This Refugee Programs Bureau (RFB) webpage shares about RFB's work and links to a variety of webpages related to supporting newcomers to California, including Afghan Arrival Response, Office of Immigrant Youth, and Ukrainian Arrivals.
National Center for Youth Law: Educational Advocacy for Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth in California
This resource provides advocates for unaccompanied immigrant youth in federal immigration custody and youth recently released from custody with a summary of the laws and policies available to advocate for these children’s meaningful access to education. References to supports for immigrant youth experiencing homelessness are included.
The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition, developed this toolkit to help equip classroom teachers, principals, and other school and school district staff who work directly with immigrant students—including asylees and refugees—and their families. The toolkit covers a variety of topics related to supporting newcomer students and provides both useful information and sample implementation tools.
Refugee Housing Solutions: Federal Housing Program Eligibility for Newcomers
This two-page tool provides detailed information about newcomer eligibility for federal housing programs and links to housing program websites and additional related resources for more information.
This SchoolHouse Connection webpage provides an overview of the rights of immigrant, migrant, and undocumented children and youth; strategies and best practices for supporting immigrant and migrant children, youth, and families; and ideas for using federal homeless education funds to serve these populations.
Sesame Street in Communities: Displacement and Resettlement webpage
This Sesame Street webpage shares supportive resources for families and children who have left their home country and resettled in a new place. Resources are included for families, children, and service providers and in a variety of languages, including Dari, Pashto, Russian, and Ukrainian.