Schools
Nearly 20K Migrant Students Will Start School Next Week In NYC
Thousands more asylum seeker children are expected — and will be welcomed — to enroll in city school this year, Chancellor David Banks said.
NEW YORK CITY — Nearly 20,000 asylum seeker children are expected to go to class on New York City's first day of school next week, said Chancellor David Banks.
The city will greet migrant students with open arms, $110 million in additional funding and thousands of bilingual and English as a new language teachers, Banks said during a Wednesday briefing.
“I want every parent, every caregiver and every student to know that the New York City public schools will be there for you, regardless of where your journey began,” he said.
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New York City's sanctuary city status means that officials don't ask immigration status and country of origins when enrolling students, thus giving asylum seeker children access to public schools.
Everyone has a right to an education, said Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom.
Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
And 19,000 students in temporary migrant housing have enrolled in New York City public schools since July 2022, Banks said. More than 500 have come over this summer, he said.
Officials expect those numbers to grow even more after the first day of classes Sept. 7.
"If we use last year as a baseline, we're talking about thousands more young people," Banks said.
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