Perhaps one in thirty students in California's public K-12 schools resides in the United States illegally. In official terms, these students are "undocumented." (Some prefer the term "unauthorized.") Some of these students, brought to America by parents or relatives, are not aware of their immigration status.

The 14th amendment of the US Constitution, adopted in 1868 during the Reconstruction era, established that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen. Today, the 14th amendment is of vital importance in the education system. According to research compiled by Education Trust-West, about one in about every thirty California students is undocumented, but about about 1 in every 8 children in California schools has at least one parent whose immigration status is unauthorized.

© 2012, Pew Research Center

Understandably, statistics regarding immigration status can be a bit squishy, but the best estimates suggest that the number of undocumented people in America has been decreasing since the Obama administration.

Source: PPIC (click to view full report)

The web site of the Pew Hispanic Center includes many useful surveys and sources to help shed light on this complex and changing segment of the California student body.

Undocumented students in California, based on calculations by the Education Trust-West using data from the Migration Policy Institute. Click this image to view the full PDF.

Can undocumented students attend public school in California? Yes, they must!

Citizenship status is not a condition for enrollment in California K-12 schools. All kids must go to school, regardless of their paperwork.

Citizenship status is not a condition for enrollment in California K-12 schools. In 1982 the US Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that immigration status cannot serve as a condition for enrollment in American public schools. Access to public education in California is open to all resident students, regardless of immigration status. California law requires kids to be in school, regardless of their paperwork.

To keep kids in school regardless of immigration status, California law protects student information from being delivered to federal immigration enforcement authorities. The California Department of Education advises local school districts that:

• "State and federal laws prohibit educational agencies from disclosing personally identifiable student information to law enforcement, without the consent of a parent or guardian, a court order or lawful subpoena, or in the case of a health emergency.
• Districts must verify a student’s age and residency, but have flexibility in what documents or supporting papers they use. They do not have to use documents pertaining to immigration status.
• To determine age, for example, an LEA can rely on a statement from a local registrar, baptismal records, or an affidavit from a parent guardian or custodian.
• To determine residency, an LEA can rely on property tax receipts, pay stubs, or correspondence from a government agency."

DREAMing

Citizenship is not a condition for enrollment in California's system of community and four-year colleges. But until the law changed in 2001, undocumented students had to pay out-of-state tuition rates at these public institutions, even if they had graduated from a California high school.

The California DREAM Act, signed by Governor Brown in 2011, eased access to higher education for undocumented students in California. The law established Jan 1, 2013 as the date when undocumented residents of California could receive state financial aid such as Cal Grants to help cover their college costs. The law also allowed public higher ed institutions in California to provide scholarships and other aid under specific guidelines. Federal financial aid rules still exclude undocumented students from federal financial aid, student loan, and work-study programs, however.

DACA

Many undocumented college students who came to the US as children have protections from deportation under the beleaguered Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which also makes these students eligible for work permits. The Obama administration created this policy using an executive order. President Trump halted the program, also by executive order. The question worked its way up to the Supreme Court, which upheld DACA in 2020. The ruling was narrow and complex.

Can undocumented students attend college in California?

Families are proceeding with caution, as policies in this area remain unsettled. In April 2018 California Attorney General Xavier Becera published a 60-page guidebook with advice and model policies for "sanctuary" schools to protect families from deportation or harassment. This advice might still be of interest for a time, but the Supreme Court ruling certainly changes the context. Look to the National Immigration Law Center for more up to date advice. Other useful sources might include The California School Boards Association and EdTrust-West.

Updated April 24, 2017 with new data. Added infographic link.
Updated Sept 7, 2017 with refreshed information about DACA.
Updated April 2018 with further DACA related information including the AG's advice.
Updated July 2020 with Supreme Court news.