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My legal guide will discuss undocumented immigrant students in the U.S. school system including public school and college. This legal guide will be written with the professional perspective of a school counselor, as this is my field of education. School counselors are responsible for providing counseling services to guide students through their social, emotional, academic, and career development (American School Counselor Association, n.d.). Information included in the legal guide will be related to laws involving undocumented students and their implications to the services offered by school counselors.

My intended audience is El Paso, Texas educators - specifically school counselors. I chose this topic because it is relevant to the area I live in and am likely to take up a school counselor role in. El Paso is a bordertown with a large percentage of undocumented immigrants within our public school system, an estimated 3000 undocumented youths enrolled in school (Migration Policy Institute, 2018). Terms of school counselor services for these undocumented students are dictated by the laws related to them.

Reference
American School Counselor Association. (n.d.). Role of the school counselor. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/ee8b2e1b-d021-4575-982c-c84402cb2cd2/Role-Statement.pdf

Migration Policy Institute. (2018). Profile of the unauthorized population: El Paso County, TX. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/county/48141

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I interviewed Karla Tejeda, one of the school counselors at El Paso High School on July 8, 2021. She shared insight on the importance of being knowledgeable of laws regarding undocumented students and public-school education. The discussion below summarizes Tejeda’s perspective on the importance of the legal topic, her recommended best practices, and emerging issues related to undocumented immigrants.

The legal topic of undocumented immigrants is important to the school counseling role, as legal restrictions influence the services a counselor can give. For example, Tejeda (personal communication, July 8, 2021) shares how undocumented students cannot be awarded funds through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid [FAFSA], which leads her to redirect her students to the Texas Application for State Financial Aid [TAFSA]. Additionally, certain sub-populations of undocumented immigrants influence Tejeda’s counseling work, offering English as a Second Language support and migrant programs. Deportation risks also present a problem in her work. Tejeda (personal communication, July 8, 2021) shared an instance of a student being questioned over his legal status by an immigration agency. The situation was resolved due to him being a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] policy. DACA defers deportation for two years and grants work authorization for undocumented youths in the U.S. (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2021). Tejeda was able to continue providing counseling services to the student, as deportation was not a present issue for him at the time. If it were not for him being a DACA recipient, her counseling strategy would have been different.

Tejeda (personal communication, July 8, 2021) recommends three best practices regarding this legal topic:

Be knowledgeable of any current court cases to ensure laws are being abided to.

Ensure undocumented students are being treated and served equally in relation to other students.

As far as requesting student information, understanding student’s needs is required like language-ability. Legal status information is not needed.

Be a source of information  for parents and students regarding applications that undocumented students may be eligible for like TAFSA or DACA.

My interview with Tejeda also reviewed over current issues regarding undocumented students in public school education. She mentioned that the area we live in receives a lot of undocumented students, more than other areas within the U.S., making the legal topic of high importance to El Paso educators. Additionally, as we are next to Juarez, Mexico, El Paso receives a lot of Spanish speaking students who need language support. She mentioned she was unaware of any pending legislation regarding the legal topic, but Slide 4 will discuss recent legislation regarding DACA.

Reference
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2021).

Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca

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Link: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/May-June-2017/Support-Undocumented-Students
I chose a magazine article written by Carolyn Stone (2017) from the American School Counselor Association that covers how counselors can support their undocumented students.
This article is a useful and informative resource for my topic, as it discusses what current legislation allows for undocumented students who are interested in higher education and how school counselors can help support them. According to Stone (2017), in-state tuition and financial assistance is available to undocumented students in the state of Texas. More about in-state tuition eligibility will be discussed in Slide 7. Stone (2017) advises school counselors to stay abreast on federal and state legislation regarding undocumented students, be attentive to the specific needs of such students regarding poverty and deportation threats, and be mindful of student privacy rights regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Reference
Stone, C. (2017). Support undocumented students. American School Counselor Association. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/May-June-2017/Support-Undocumented-Students

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Link: https://www.k12dive.com/news/supreme-court-daca-decision-protects-thousands-of-educators-students/590898/
I chose a news article by Education Dive written by Modan and Busta (2020) that covers the Supreme Court's decision to stop Trump administration's 2016 decision to terminate the DACA program.

This decision has protected K - 12 students who are potentially eligible for DACA as well as educators who are DACA recipients. This informs the state of this legal topic, for the counselor responsibility to help undocumented students with their DACA requests was further supported for a certain amount of time.

The decision does not rule out potential future attempts to eliminate the DACA program. This informs this legal topic, as school counselors must be aware of potential future instances of DACA being terminated. Educators must continue to stay abreast on further proceedings and potential threats to DACA.

The article also discusses how in the midst of the global pandemic, deliberation over DACA has placed an additional stressor to the lives of undocumented students, their families, and DACA recipients. This is related to this legal topic, as it underscores the legal issues that school counselors must be aware of to understand the fluctuating conditions undocumented students face in pursuing education, employment, and citizenship.

The Supreme Court decision protected DACA applicants and recipients for the time being. Since writing this Padlet slide, however, on June 16th 2021, a federal judge in Texas has now ruled the discontinuance of new DACA applications; Current recipients are not affected (Alvarez, 2021).  This impacts the role of a school counselor as DACA request guidance might not be required as new applications will not be accepted from here on.

Reference
Alvarez, P. (2021). Federal judge blocks new applications and says program is illegal. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/16/politics/daca-ruling-hanen/index.html

Modan, N. & Busta, H. (2020). Supreme Court's DACA decision protects thousands of educators, students. Education Dive. https://www.k12dive.com/news/supreme-court-daca-decision-protects-thousands-of-educators-students/590898/

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Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/29/undocumented-immigrant-students-texas-in-state-tuition/
I chose a news article written by Canizales (2021) on potential legal discussion on the termination of in-state tuition being offered to undocumented college students within the state of Texas.  As mentioned previously, in-state tuition is offered to undocumented students in Texas, but now conversation is open within Texas legislation over the continuation of such conditions.

This article informs the current state of the legal topic. It discusses that since 2001, undocumented college students have been eligible for in-state tuition in the state of Texas with the condition of having "lived in Texas for at least three years, graduated from a Texas high school and pledged to apply for legal status as soon as possible" (Canizalez, 2021, para. 13). School counselors must be aware of such conditions when assisting their undocumented students who are eligible for in-state tuition to help them in the process of applying for colleges.

There is, however, potential discussion on the elimination of such tuition for undocumented students, as explained in the article. School counselors must stay updated on any future discussion on this matter to be knowledgeable on what that means for their level of college preparation services for undocumented students.

Terminating in-state tuition would bring an additional hardship to undocumented students seeking higher education. Even with in-state tuition, affording higher education is still a challenge. School counselors must be aware of additional resources to help their students afford college as in-state tuition conditions is still not enough.

Reference
Canizales, A. (2021). Republican Texas lawmakers reviving push to end in-state tuition for undocumented college students. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/29/undocumented-immigrant-students-texas-in-state-tuition/

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Constitutional Law
Reference: U.S. Const. amend. XIV.§ 1
Link: https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#amendments

The Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment holds that a state cannot deprive a person of equal protection under law, meaning that under the law, everyone is treated the same.

Undocumented immigrants are included in the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection clause, as there is no distinction of citizenship status regarding this clause.

By Equal Protection, undocumented immigrants are to be treated the same as others under the law.

This constitutional law becomes relevant in protecting undocumented students' right to attend public schools and U.S. colleges, as will be discussed in Slide 8.

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Statutory Law
References:
T.E.C. § 54.052
Tex. H.B. 1403, 77th Leg., R.S. (2001)
Link for TEC § 54.052: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.54.htm
Link for Tex. H.B. 1403, 77th Leg., R.S. (2001): https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/77R/billtext/html/HB01403F.htm

TEC § 54.052 defines residential status to be considered for in-state tuition within the state of Texas.

This Education Code would be amended in 2001 to consider undocumented students.

Eligibility for in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant students as stated by Tex. H.B. 1403 (2001) include:

Must be a public/private school graduate or have equivalent diploma within Texas.

Must have lived in Texas for three years minimum by the time of graduating high school or attaining equivalent diploma.

Must have been registered to a college.

Must give college/post-secondary institution a written confirmation of intentions and plan to become a resident once able to.

These conditions allow undocumented students to be eligible for in-state tuition within the state of Texas.

It is important to check on any further proceedings regarding these conditions as indicated by Slide 5's discussion on a potential termination of in-state tuition for undocumented students.

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Judicial Law
Reference: U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982)
Link: https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/access-education-rule-law

The Texas Education Code had previously enacted a policy to deny undocumented students public school enrollment in 1975

This decision would be challenged by students who resided in Texas without legal documents and were of Mexican descent.

Whether Texas legislature's decision was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause was deliberated in court.

It was ruled that Texas legislature had no reasonable justification for disallowing undocumented students to enroll in public schools; there was no apparent threat to the state. Additionally, it was ruled denying public school education to undocumented students would be violating the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Because of this judicial law, undocumented students' right to enroll in Texas public schools is protected.

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Administrative Law
Reference: 19 T.A.C § 129.1 (a)-(b)
Link:
https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=2&ch=129&rl=1

This Texas Administrative Code defines the deadlines for identity documentation when enrolling into Texas public schools.

Within the first 30 days of enrolling into a Texas school, identification documents are required.

The commissioner of education determines what identification is required. Documents include child records like their social security number or another identification number that can be used in place of SSN that is approved by the state of Texas.

If such documentation is not provided within the 30 day deadline, enrollment cannot be rejected and neither can the child be removed from school.

This law prevents undocumented children from being pulled from the Texas public schools just because they could not provide identification documents.

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Local/Administrative Law
When DACA was threatened with potential termination, El Paso Independent School District's [EPISD] board of trustees passed a resolution, committed to the continued upholding of DACA. The resolution was in favor of bi-partisan collaboration to assist and protect undocumented students through immigration reform (Ballot Pedia, n.d.; Anderson, 2016). However, with recent events of DACA being officially terminated for new applicants, EPISD has yet to make a statement.

The resolution can be accessed through the following link: https://www.scribd.com/document/334798904/El-Paso-ISD-resolution-supporting-dreamers

References
Anderson, L. (2016). EPISD declares support for undocumented students. El Paso Times. https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/education/episd/2016/12/25/episd-declares-support-undocumented-students-12-26/95701984/

Ballot Pedia. (n.d.). El Paso Independent School District, Texas. https://ballotpedia.org/El_Paso_Independent_School_District,_Texas

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According to the American School Counselor Association's [ASCA] (2016) ethical guidelines, I have an obligation to protect and maintain the confidentiality of student information "in accordance with prescribed federal and state laws and school board policies" (p. 6), and I need to ensure that student information does not reach parties who should not have access to it (ASCA, 2016).
How this potentially connects to my legal topic involves protecting undocumented students' information from immigration agents. To protect undocumented students' confidentiality and continued education in the U.S., school counselors cannot share students' immigration status to such third party agencies. School counselors are likely to face an ethical dilemma of agents being interested in identifying undocumented students, but under ASCA's ethical guidelines, they are not allowed to share any information regarding the students in question.

Reference
American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

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As laws regarding undocumented students do not affect my personal educational journey, I will compare my experiences to such students. Our legal statuses as citizens vs non-citizens create differences in our experiences with education. Like undocumented students, federal and state laws have protected my right to attend public schools in the U.S., though they have additional stressors that I do not have like deportation threats.  Additionally, within the state of Texas, we can both pay in-state tuition, but undocumented students are not able to apply or receive funds from FAFSA to cover tuition fees (Federal Student Aid, 2021). However, they can receive in-state funding through TAFSA, which is an option available to me as well (Texas Law Help, n.d.). Overall, undocumented students have more obstacles they need to navigate in order to receive an education within the U.S. We share the same capacity to pursue education, but legal restrictions require undocumented students to approach the process of application cautiously.

References
Federal Student Aid. (2021) Financial aid and undocumented immigrants. https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/financial-aid-and-undocumented-students.pdf

Texas Law Help. (n.d.). What kind of student financial aid can undocumented students apply for? https://texaslawhelp.org/faq/what-kind-student-financial-aid-can-undocumented-students-apply

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The topic of undocumented immigrants' status as students within the U.S. has multiple legal implications that educators need to be aware of in order to adequately and appropriately approach related situations. From this legal guide, seven recommendations are offered to help educators - specifically school counselors within El Paso, TX - in their practice helping their undocumented students and complying to the law:

Stay updated on legal proceedings involving undocumented immigrants. Currently special attention is required regarding further proceedings on DACA and in-state tuition for undocumented students.

This recommendation is further underscored by the fact that during the creation of this legal guide, future approvals for DACA applications are discontinued .

Be knowledgeable on available and legal financial aid services that undocumented students may be eligible for, including TAFSA.

Treat students equally, placing undocumented students at the same level as other students.

Respect undocumented students' right to privacy, especially when it comes to sharing information to third parties like immigration agencies.

In regards to student records and information, be knowledgeable on data regarding their needs like second language requirements which is very likely within El Paso, Texas.

Understand the hardships undocumented students face when challenged by fluctuating legal restrictions to better understand their needs.

Do not deprive undocumented students educational services based on a lack of identifying documentation. They cannot be denied enrollment.