TO school board adopts ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy for foreign students TORONTO (CP) _ Canada's largest school board has adopted, in principle, a ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy when it comes to dealing with students who may not have legal status in the country. Toronto District School Board trustees voted unanimously this week to come up with plans so non-status migrants and their children aren't turned away from services and pushed further underground out of fear. The board's move came after Canada Border Services Agency officials last month entered at least two Toronto schools and arrested three girls and a boy who were children of undocumented migrants. In one case, they were used as bait to flush parents out of hiding. A formal policy, stipulating that school board staff will not report or share information about the immigration status of any student or family, is expected to be formulated by the fall. Existing admissions policy, at least on paper, requires principals to ask for proof of immigration status, immunizations and residency through leases and hydro bills. But ultimately, they have discretion on whether to accept a non-status student. ``We need to show some courage and leadership, that we are not allowing our kids to be used as pawns,'' said a Toronto trustee, Josh Matlow. ``We want to make sure it doesn't happen again to other kids across the city. Anybody, regardless of their immigration status, should be able to go to school without fearing they'd be targeted by (border security) officials,'' said Sima Zerehi, chair of the grassroots No One Is Illegal campaign. (Toronto Star) Copyright © 2006 The Canadian Press |
