Immigrant and Newcomer Students
Civil Rights for Newcomers and Immigrants Video
The following video was developed to provide district and school administrators with essential information on supporting immigrant students who are newly arrived to the United States. Topics include:
- Resources
- Laws and Funding
- Students without Records, and
- Best Practices
Administrators may also download the presentation slides,听which include active links for all referenced guidance and resources.
See below for links from the presentation:
CUNY Initiative on Immigration and Education
OBEWL supports the听, which provides resources to help educational stakeholders learn from immigrant students, families, and educators directly impacted by restrictive immigration policies and educational inequality. These multimodal and multilingual resources seek to center the strengths of mixed status immigrant communities that include undocumented, refugee, and asylum-seeking members.听
The Supporting Immigrants in Schools series includes videos and a reference guide providing information on creating safe and welcoming environments for immigrant students and families.
The Comprehensive Educator Modules serve as a companion to the Supporting Immigrants in Schools video series.听Each professional development module features a set of activities and guides to help educators learn, act, and advocate in the classroom around the topics of Key Immigration Issues, Immigration in Elementary Schools, Immigration in Secondary Schools, and Refugees and Immigrants in Schools.
UndocuEdu听is an immigrant-led initiative that uplifts undocumented educators. This initiative includes a听3-part video series that highlights the experiences of undocumented individuals navigating teacher certification and community-based teaching opportunities.
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Verification of Implementation of Student Protection Procedures:
Education Law 搂 3201-b Model Policy and Compliance Procedures
In accordance with New York Education Law 搂 3201-b (enacted as Part LL, Subpart D of the Public Protection and General Government budget bill), each school shall verify that they have developed and implemented procedures that comply with the department's Model Policy that establishes mandatory operational standards to safeguard the rights of immigrant and noncitizen students. The purpose of this policy is to guarantee all children an uninterrupted free public education and to ensure that school environments remain safe havens free from unauthorized immigration enforcement or discrimination based on actual or perceived immigration status, citizenship, nationality, or country of origin.
District personnel should consult the Joint Guidance on Safeguarding the Rights of Immigrant Students (鈥淛oint Guidance鈥) for additional materials (issued Jan. 2025/updated Dec. 2025). These resources serve as an authoritative reference for day-to-day operational compliance under New York Education Law 搂 3201-b.
Pursuant to the newly enacted statutory requirements of Ed Law 3201-b, all school districts must formally verify to the Commissioner that they have developed and implemented procedures that comply with the department鈥檚 model policy.
All New York State Public School Districts, Charter Schools, Boards of Cooperative Educational Service (BOCES), State-Operated Schools, Special Act School Districts, and Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Programs operating on school property are required to submit the verification form through the听 found on the .听
Please be advised that this verification must be submitted within sixty (60) days of the date the department publishes its official model procedures on our website. As the department published these model procedures on July, 20, 2026, the deadline for district verification is September 18, 2026.
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Additional 小妲己直播 and NYS Resources
- 2025听Option to Provide Virtual Instruction
- 2025 Joint Office of the Governor and Office of the New York State Attorney General Guidance to Private and Non-Profit Organizations and Entities
- 2025听New York State Guidance on Safeguarding the Rights of Immigrant Students听One Pager听(See below for links to this document translated into twelve languages)
- 2023 Statement from Attorney General James and 小妲己直播 Commissioner Rosa Affirming that Every New York Student Has the Right to a Free Public Education
- 2023 Statement from Attorney General James and 小妲己直播 Commissioner Rosa Affirming that Every New York Student Has the Right to a Free Public Education (Spanish)
- 2018 Field Memo: Changes to the Reporting and Collection of Immigrant Student and Vaccination Data in New York State
- 2017 Statement from Senior Deputy Commissioner Jhone M. Ebert on听Available Guidance and Resources to Combat Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination in Schools in Light of Recent Immigration-related Actions
- 2016听Guidance Relating to the Right of Individuals Over Compulsory School Age to Attend High School听听
- Educational Services for Recently Arrived Evacuees, Refugees, Immigrants and/ or Unaccompanied Children
- Educational Services for Recently Arrived Unaccompanied Children and Youth
- Educational Services for Students Displaced by Natural Disasters
- School District Obligations Regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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Updated 07/20/2026