I believe my teacher gives me a hard time just because I'm Arab-American. Is there anything I can do to change this?Yes. Teachers and administrators at your school can't discriminate against you because of your race, the country you or your family came from, or the language you speak. My parents are Cambodian and aren’t fluent in English. My school only sends home information and permission slips in English, but my parents can’t understand them and so I can’t go on field trips with my class. Is there anything I can do? Possibly. Have you asked the school to provide permission slips in a language your parents can read? If the school refuses to do so, that policy may violate the Equal Educational Opportunity Act, which requires states to overcome language barriers that affect a student’s educational opportunities. If the school accommodates parents who speak only Spanish but does not accommodate those who speak only Cambodian, that could violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI (that is, Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin or ethnicity), but only if there is reason to believe that the school is intentionally discriminating against you or your family because of your ethnicity or national origin. At a minimum, under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, your school must provide your parents with an annual notice that effectively communicates to them their rights as parents and your rights as a student. The law does not specifically require that the information be translated into your parents’ language of fluency, but the school must at least make an effort to ensure that your parents can understand the annual notice. I wanted to try out for the football team, but the coach sent me home just because I'm a girl. My dad taught me how to play when I was a kid, and I'm really good at it. Shouldn't I at least be allowed to try out?Yes, you probably should. Public schools have to give equal athletic opportunities to female and male students. Separate teams for guys and girls are probably okay, as long as the school gives students of both sexes the chance to participate in the particular sport. If the school doesn’t do that, then a student may be able to try out for the opposite-sex team—unless it’s a contact sport. In Pennsylvania, at least some courts have said it’s okay for girls to try out for all-male teams even if it’s a contact sport. In your case, since the school only supports a football team for guys, that may mean that you can try out for the team. We have a great girls’ soccer team at my school and our record is just as good as the boys’ team. The boys keep getting new uniforms and, when we ask for uniforms, our coach says that there’s no money. I don’t think that’s fair. Isn’t it against the law to discriminate like this? Probably. The unequal treatment of girls’ and boys’ sports may well violate the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which does not permit any policy that disadvantages a person because of his or her sex. The failure to treat the teams equally may also violate Title IX (the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive money from the federal government), but only if the discrimination is “substantial” and the athletic program as a whole does not show equal disadvantages for boys in another sport or special advantages for girls. In other words, if the school buys new uniforms for the girls’ basketball team more often than it does for the boys' team, that may balance out the opposite treatment of the soccer teams. Under either law, a court will look at the athletic program as a whole to determine whether there are substantial disparities in how the girls are treated. I read about a girl with a 3.8 GPA and all kinds of academic and community awards whose school kicked her out of the National Honor Society (NHS) when they found out she was pregnant. I couldn't believe it! Can they do that? No. Schools can’t discriminate against students because they are pregnant, married, or parents. They can’t be excluded from attending classes, graduation, or most other school activities. In a case like the one you mention, a federal court said the girl had been discriminated against because of her gender when she was kicked out of NHS for being pregnant. The court ordered her reinstated in the honor society. I’m pregnant and want to raise my child, but I’m worried about how I’m going to care for her. I don’t know any other students with kids; does my school have to provide child care? There are no laws requiring a school to supply child care for student parents. However, under the Pennsylvania Code, subsidized child care is available, but not guaranteed, if a student meets certain financial criteria and is enrolled full-time in school. In addition, there are some high schools and middle schools that have free child care facilities for student use under one of two programs run by the state of Pennsylvania: PPT (Pregnant and Parenting Teen) and ELECT (Education Leading to Employment and Career Training). To find more information about child care, you can contact the Child Care Information Services (CCIS) agency, a service available throughout Pennsylvania, at 1-877-4PA-KIDS or 1-877-472-5437. A kid in my class was kicked out of school because one of his teachers found out that he is HIV-positive. Is that allowed?Students who are HIV-positive or who have AIDS are entitled to an education like other students. They are protected from discrimination at schools and other public places under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Schools may have some discretion, however, in determining whether an HIV-positive student is taught at school or home. They may decide on a case-by-case basis whether the student reasonably poses a possible health concern to himself or others by being in class. Since HIV isn’t spread by casual contact, HIV-positive students shouldn’t automatically be seen as a threat to anyone else’s health. A friend of mine is really worried because her parents are undocumented immigrants. If the school ever finds out, can they expel her?No, they can’t. Your friend has a right to a free public education. The Fourteenth Amendment gives “equal protection of the law” to each person—not just American citizens. That means that all kids should have equal educational opportunity, no matter whether they’re citizens or non-citizens. The officials at your school cannot ask your friend if she’s a citizen or not, or make her show proof that she’s in the country legally. My friend's dad is always complaining about the new immigrants in our town whose kids go to our school. He says that if the kids can't speak English, they shouldn't be going to school. That doesn't seem fair. Do these kids have a right to go to school?Yes. Public schools have to provide instruction for non-English-speaking students. It’s the job of the schools to teach them English (and other subjects). A student who doesn’t understand English can’t follow what’s going on in class, so he or she is effectively denied equal educational opportunity. That’s why public schools have been teaching English to generations of new immigrants, probably including the parents or grandparents of your friend’s dad! School districts can, however, choose what kind of program to have for teaching non-English-speaking students. The program must at a minimum: - Identify the students who are not fluent in English;
- Evaluate the students' language skills and academic achievement in English and their native language;
- Provide an educational program that allows the students to eventually transfer into regular classes; and
- Monitor the program's effectiveness.
What about bilingual programs? I keep hearing arguments about whether schools should have them or not.A bilingual program teaches students English and, at the same time, teaches them some other classes in their native tongue. That way, students don’t fall behind in math, science, or other important subjects while they’re still learning English. Some states, like California, have passed or are trying to pass laws cutting back on bilingual education. I want to live with someone in another school district and attend school there instead of the district where my parents live. I heard that I had to be an “emancipated minor” in order to do that. What does that mean, and how do I become “emancipated”? An emancipated minor is someone under 21 who is self-supporting and independent from his or her parents’ or guardian’s control. To be emancipated, you must show that you are living independently of your parents or guardian and financially supporting yourself. If you are married, you are also considered emancipated for these purposes. Emancipated students are residents of the district where they live and can go to school there, even if their parents live in a different district. What if I’m not emancipated? I want to move in with my grandmother, who lives in a different school district than my parents. Can I go to a school in her district when I move in with her? Possibly. If you live with an adult in a different school district than your parents, you can go to school where you live—if the adult you are living with is supporting you (or you receive public benefits like Social Security) and is not being paid to do it. Before admitting you, the school district may ask your grandmother to sign a sworn statement saying that: - She is not being paid to care for you;
- You are planning on staying indefinitely (and not just for the school year or term); and
- She will take responsibility for your schooling.
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