Edmonton public school trustees have voted unanimously to ask Alberta’s government to change laws. They want undocumented children to be allowed to enrol in school. They also want more funding to support these children’s education.
The decision came after advocacy groups brought attention to the issue. Over several months, these groups sent speakers and affected children to speak at school board meetings.
One of the speakers was 13-year-old Areana Capata. At a meeting last month, she shared that three of her siblings have been unable to attend school for two years.
“How will they go to college, get jobs they love, or feel confident if they are denied the chance to grow up?” Capata asked the trustees.
She added, “The worst part is it’s not their fault. No child chooses to be undocumented.”
Trustee Jan Sawyer said on Tuesday that the school division must do everything it can to ensure undocumented children receive an education.
“That’s why we’re here,” Sawyer said. “We believe it is essential.”
Whitney Haynes, executive director of the Alberta Workers Association for Research and Education, said her group is currently helping nine undocumented children in Edmonton. She believes more children are affected.
Haynes explained that residency status can change often. Some parents enter Canada without proper documents. Others arrive with temporary work permits but lose their status if their permits expire or if they change jobs.
“Once their permit expires, they become undocumented,” Haynes said. “When that happens, their children can no longer attend Alberta schools.”
She added that these children face risks and, recently, some have been removed from school.
Haynes said Edmonton’s Catholic school board is more likely to remove students when their visa status lapses. Her group has tried to work with the board but has not received a response.
Christine Meadows, spokesperson for Edmonton Catholic Schools, said the board is aware of Tuesday’s vote. She said the division welcomes all students as allowed by provincial laws.
Meadows was pleased that a similar motion to raise this issue with the provincial school boards association also passed on Tuesday.
“It’s important for school boards across Alberta to discuss complex issues like this together,” she said.
A report prepared for Tuesday’s Edmonton Public School trustees meeting said some community members want the division to create a “sanctuary policy.” This would allow schools to enrol undocumented children regardless of their residency status.
However, Alberta law currently does not allow this. By contrast, Ontario’s laws require schools to admit children regardless of legal status.
Alberta’s Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, did not respond to questions about whether he would meet with trustees or act on their request. He said most foreign children in Alberta can attend public schools.
“This includes children of temporary residents and families with refugee status, even those applying after arrival,” Nicolaides said.
He added that children arriving as tourists or visitors usually do not have the right to public education.
Nicolaides also said there is a difference between having the right to access education and having a right to receive it free of charge.
Alberta’s Education Act says only students who are legal residents of Alberta, with at least one parent also a resident, are eligible for publicly funded education.
Children who live outside Alberta but are legal residents elsewhere in Canada may attend Edmonton public schools by paying a fee.
“Since the division does not get provincial funding for these students, the fee helps cover the cost of their education,” said Darrel Robertson, superintendent of Edmonton Public Schools, in a report earlier this month.
The fee for the current school year is just over $10,000. Robertson noted that two students from Nunavut are enrolled in Edmonton schools this year.
The report also says international students pay a higher fee.
Renee Vaugeois, director of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, which supports the advocacy campaign, disagrees with the minister’s distinction.
“Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children have a right to education through Grade 12,” Vaugeois said. Alberta endorsed the convention in 1999.
“We have ratified that convention. It is international law. But Alberta’s Education Act is written to exclude some children.”
Vaugeois praised the Edmonton Public School trustees’ vote. Still, she said real change will only happen if Alberta’s government agrees to act.
