The Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSDE) approved rule changes on Tuesday that would allow schools in the state to gather data about a student's immigration status.
The new rules would require legal guardians to provide proof of citizenship to enroll their students in Oklahoma's public school system.
It will also require schools to document how many students could not provide proof of citizenship.
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Around 100 Oklahomans gathered outside the OSDE building before the meeting to protest the rule change.
Prior to the proposed changes, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters released a statement that said his state's schools are "crippled" by the "flood" of children who were not brought the country through legal avenues.
Walters said "liberal media has been vilifying Republicans for separating" migrants and their children.
"Now they want us to explain why we'd let ICE into schools. The answer is simple: we want to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together," Walters said.
OSDE held a public meeting on Jan. 17 to get feedback on the rule change. Here's how that went:
When discussing the rule change in the meeting, Board Member Katie Quebedeaux asked if the information gathered on immigration status would be directly linked to students' identities or if would it be anonymous.
"We would be able to gather the information," Walters said. "The information is going to be 'did you provide the documentation we are asking?' That will be the information that is gathered."
Board Member Donald Burdick asked, "In simple terms, you're not actually determining an immigration status, you are determining do they have certain documentation or not?"
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"What we are doing is ensuring that we have the documentation around the child to understand if they are a legal citizen for the purposes of resources and personnel alignment," Walters said.
Walters said once this data is gathered, there is nothing in the rule changes that would deprive a student of educational services. He also claimed that Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said this information is legal to gather.
Quebedeaux then asked if the information would be shared with anyone.
Walters said that the OSDE would keep that information, but they would cooperate with law enforcement.
Now, the rule changes will head to the Oklahoma legislature for potential approval before going to the governor's desk to be signed.
This story was originally published by Jennifer Maupin and Stef Manchen at Scripps News Tulsa.
