Committee Rejects Citizenship Verification Rules… Governor Also Expresses Opposition
A proposal to mandate U.S. citizenship verification for public school students in Oklahoma has been halted by a House committee. The House Administrative Rules Committee unanimously passed Senate Joint Resolution 22 on Wednesday, which approves and disapproves proposed rules from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, rejecting the regulation requiring citizenship verification in schools.

This decision follows the committee's 10-3 defeat of an amendment by Republican Representative Molly Jenkins, who had sought to approve the controversial regulation. Rep. Jenkins argued that Oklahoma taxpayers have a right to know the exact number of undocumented children attending public schools, stating that the regulation would have required schools to report to the state the number of students who could not prove citizenship or legal residency. "We need a number," she emphasized, "Taxpayers have a right to that number. We have people coming across the border illegally due to the border open invasion (by President Joe Biden), and taxpayers have a right to know how many of these kids we're supporting."

However, current federal law prohibits schools from requiring students to disclose their immigration status. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that undocumented children cannot be denied the right to public education. Jenkins argued that the Supreme Court ruling does not prevent states from tracking students' immigration status, noting that a similar law passed in Alabama in 2011 was later overturned in court, but had led to a significant increase in absenteeism among Hispanic students.

Republican members within the committee pointed out that the Department of Education lacked proper justification for proposing the regulation under state law. Representative Gerrid Kendrix, a Republican and chairman of the committee, stated that the Department of Education attempted to create a rule relying on a statute that he "did not think applied to this." For a state agency to create an administrative rule, it must expand upon existing statutes related to that policy, after which the state legislature and governor can review and approve or reject the proposed rules. Once approved, a rule carries the force of law.

Governor Kevin Stitt has also already pledged to block the citizenship verification regulation if it reaches his desk. Governor Stitt, a Republican, said last week that the proposal had made some Oklahoma families afraid to send their children to school, adding that "listing kids is not something we should be doing."

State Superintendent Ryan Walters, who originally proposed the regulation, argued that it would help accurately identify necessary resources, such as English language learning program needs for immigrant students. Oklahoma schools currently provide these services without requiring proof of citizenship. Superintendent Walters had also stated that the regulation would help end "sanctuary schools" in Oklahoma and that his administration would hand over collected information to federal immigration authorities if requested.

Meanwhile, another proposed rule by Superintendent Walters rejected by the committee was the requirement that all public school teachers must pass the written version of the U.S. naturalization test to obtain or renew their certification. This also faced bipartisan opposition in the state legislature.

With this committee vote, the resolution will now be sent to the full House for consideration. Senate Joint Resolution 22 unanimously passed the State Senate last week.

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