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Four months ago, Oklahoma鈥檚 Republican state Superintendent the Tulsa Public Schools for bucking national enrollment trends among urban districts. 

The student population has not only , but the district saw an unprecedented influx of English learners. 

鈥淚t’s a huge testament to the work being done in Tulsa,鈥� he said at a state board meeting. 鈥淚 think that you’re seeing parents that have confidence in what’s being done there.鈥�

But now he wants parents in Tulsa and other districts throughout the state to share their citizenship status when they enroll their children 鈥� a proposal that not only violates but is likely to keep some parents from sending their children to school. 

Districts say they don鈥檛 know how many undocumented students they have, but In Tulsa, the population of English learners grew from 10,168 in 2023 to 11,149 last year. 

President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 are celebrating Walters鈥� effort to end 鈥渟anctuary schools,鈥� but district leaders say the plan is traumatizing vulnerable families.

鈥淚t’s hurtful, and it’s going to create fear,鈥� said Nick Migliorino, superintendent of the Norman Public Schools, south of Oklahoma City. 鈥淣ot educating kids because of the status of their parents helps nobody.鈥� 

The Oklahoma State Department of Education says the is needed to determine how many tutors and teachers districts need for English learners. But it comes as many national Republicans are eager to challenge a longstanding Supreme Court ruling, , which  guarantees undocumented students an education in the U.S. 

鈥淚t’s reasonable to presume that this is an attack on Plyler,鈥� said Julie Sugarman, associate director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration at the Migration Policy Institute. 鈥淚f the Supreme Court was to say, 鈥榃ell, we changed our mind 鈥� you actually can ask about immigration status,鈥� that would really put all of Plyler into question.鈥� 

The public has until Jan. 17 to submit comments on the rule. The state Board of Education will hold a public hearing the same day. 

The plan follows an election in which President-elect Donald Trump referred to the U.S. as a for undocumented immigrants. He has called for on Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at schools on the day he takes office and said he would 鈥� even if their children were born in the U.S.

Walters foreshadowed the new rule in July when he asked districts to account for the 鈥渃ost and burden鈥� of illegal immigration. And on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and ICE Deputy Director Peter Flores for $474 million, saying their 鈥渇ailed border policies鈥� have placed 鈥渟evere financial and operational strain鈥� on Oklahoma鈥檚 schools. He a bill for the same figure in October. 

The state, which has an under 16, will need an additional 1,065 teachers for English learners over the next five years, he wrote in his letter to Harris. He offered no specifics on where he got that figure. 

鈥淲e cannot effectively budget or allocate critical resources when we have no accounting of the cost that illegal immigration places on our schools,鈥� the letter said.

shows that the percentage of English learners in the state, about 10%, hasn鈥檛 increased since the 2021-22 school year. But teachers in Tulsa have definitely noticed the influx of newcomers. 

鈥淪ome of them just show up on Monday and they don’t speak any English,鈥� said one teacher in the district who did not want to be named in order to protect students. She often communicates with students through bilingual staff members. 鈥淚 just hear the saddest stories every day. The kids are really sweet, but they’re afraid.鈥�  

She worries about what might happen if recent immigrants are unable to attend school. 

鈥淲e provide coats,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e provide groceries on the weekends.”

鈥榃ill not comply鈥�

Norman, where about 8% of students are English learners, was among the many districts that didn鈥檛 submit any data to the state last summer. Regardless of their needs, Migliorino said, 鈥渆ducators invest in the students who show up in our district.鈥�

Leaders of other districts, including the , and the , pushed back on Walters鈥� demands, saying they haven鈥檛  asked about families鈥� immigration status and don鈥檛 intend to start. 

Bixby Superintendent told 社区黑料 the proposed rule was 鈥渃learly unconstitutional.鈥� 

鈥淏ixby will not comply,鈥� said Miller, an outspoken critic of Walters who is suing him for .

He compared Walters鈥� plan to the state鈥檚 legal battle over a first-in-the-nation religious charter school. While the Oklahoma Supreme Court said the Catholic charter violates the law, the school and the state鈥檚 charter board have appealed that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has not yet decided whether to hear the case. 

鈥淚 believe they are trying to create a case for the Trump Supreme Court,鈥� he said.

In , a Texas school district sought to charge tuition to students not 鈥渓egally admitted鈥� to the country. The U.S. Department of Education has long interpreted the court鈥檚 opinion to mean that states 鈥渃annot do anything to chill the atmosphere or to make people feel afraid to send their kids to school,鈥� Sugarman said. 

Oklahoma isn鈥檛 the first state to attempt to curb illegal immigration鈥檚 impact on schools. In 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, which denied undocumented immigrants access to public education and other services. The measure directed teachers to report students they suspected were undocumented to authorities. But advocates and federal courts found it .

Since then, , Arizona, Maryland and Texas have sought to ask parents about their citizenship, all for the stated purpose of determining how much it costs to serve unauthorized students. Only Alabama鈥檚 law was enacted, but a federal appeals court in 2012, after only a year. 

The issue could prove appealing for the Supreme Court, which took a sharp right turn during President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 first term. That ideological shift resulted in the end of and the reversal of that gave federal agencies significant leeway to interpret the law. 

鈥淲e have a different court now,鈥� said Sugarman of the Migration Policy Institute. 鈥淭he court鈥檚 willingness to overturn legal precedent means that lots of things are on the table that we wouldn鈥檛 previously [have] thought were in play.鈥�

Attorney general agreement

The education department has until March to submit the rule to the legislature, where both the House and Senate must approve the measure for it to pass. If they don鈥檛 take action, the package automatically goes to the governor to sign.聽

Walters, who frequently clashes with Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on issues like religion in public schools and education funding, has found common cause with his frequent opponent on the issue of seeking parents鈥� citizenship status. 

鈥淭he Attorney General has said he believes Oklahoma has the right to collect citizenship data in connection with government services,鈥� said spokesman Phil Bacharach.

In a , Drummond, who announced his Monday, spoke about efforts to cooperate with the incoming Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants who are committing crimes in the state. But he didn鈥檛 address education.

As 鈥減rotected areas or sensitive locations,鈥� schools have been off limits for ICE agents at least . Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, said she wasn鈥檛 aware of any past ICE raids at U.S. schools. But that enrollment of Hispanic students in school drops, especially in the elementary grades, when ICE and local law enforcement partner to enforce immigration laws. Following a raid at a Tennessee meatpacking plant in 2019, in the local district were absent.聽

For now, some districts have tried to reassure parents who might be hesitant to enroll their children or send them to school. Oklahoma City Superintendent Jamie Polk issued a statement saying the district鈥檚 schools 鈥渁re a safe and welcoming place for all students, and our mission remains unchanged.鈥�

But the state鈥檚 recommended rule is especially controversial in Tulsa, where conservative Board Member E鈥橪ena Ashley told a Republican group that many English learners are undocumented and could pose a safety risk to other students.

Superintendent Ebony Johnson has tried to put families at ease, saying that rulemaking is a long, drawn-out process.

鈥淭here is a place for you and your children here,鈥� Johnson said in a . 鈥淲e want students here at school every day.鈥�  

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