The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Refugee Education Program offers advocacy for a special population of students and parents who otherwise may not have support. A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their home country due to war, violence, persecution, or natural disaster. Refugee students often face significant challenges—language barriers, discrimination, disrupted education, and trauma from displacement—that can impact their experiences in the classroom.
PDE’s Refugee Education Program Presents “Legal Rights of Immigrant Students in Pennsylvania Schools”
You can receive a recorded legal overview and best practices to create a school environment that respects the rights of immigrant students, and an update on the status of national legal challenges that could impact schools serving immigrant students. In January 2025, the U.S. government rescinded the longstanding “Sensitive Locations” policy, which has resulted in disruptions at schools. The video covers immigrant students’ rights in enrollment, attendance, non-discrimination, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protections, and warrant requirements for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at schools. We will review a model Welcoming Schools policy and protocol.
Click to Watch legal “Rights of Immigrants”
Supporting Students Distressed by ICE Actions
In times of heightened immigration enforcement activity, schools often become the emotional anchor for students who feel afraid, confused, or unsafe. For many children – whether undocumented themselves, part of mixed-status families, or simply empathetic peers – news of ICE actions can trigger significant distress.
Schools cannot control federal policy, but they can shape how students experience safety, belonging, and stability during uncertain moments. The role school staff play is to ensure that campuses function as protective, supportive environments where every student has the opportunity to learn without fear.
Click here to access a guidance document from the national Center for MH in Schools & Student/Learning Supports at UCLA.
‘Unauthorized’ Immigrant HS Grads Face Uncertain Future
Narrowing federal and state policies are fueling uncertainty about life after graduation for “unauthorized” immigrant students in high school, according to a new analysis from the Migration Policy Institute. For instance, most of today’s high-schoolers cannot qualify for the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which delays the deportation of people without documentation who came to the U.S. as children. Under DACA’s age and residency requirements, the Migration Policy Institute said that no one under the age of 18 could qualify as of 2025 — even if new applicants were still being accepted.
Meanwhile, some states have recently rolled back policies that allowed unauthorized immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Texas, for instance, reversed course on a 24-year-old policy in 2025 in a move expected to affect tens of thousands of students.