Education
Oklahoma Moves to Require Schools to Ask Students’ Immigration Status
Oklahoma education leaders approved a plan on Tuesday to request proof of citizenship or immigration status from families when they enroll their children in public schools.
The new rule would not prevent students who are not citizens or legal immigrants from enrolling, a practice that was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1982. But it would require districts to track and report the number of students whose families have not provided proof of citizenship or legal status.
The rule was a remarkable departure from the noncooperative approach that many large school districts across the nation have taken in response to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, which are expected to cause waves of deportations and could lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to visit schools. It could also prompt swift legal challenges across the state.
Ryan Walters, the state superintendent of schools and a firebrand Republican who supported the new rule, said it aimed to provide the White House with the information needed to enforce its immigration policies in Oklahoma.
Mr. Walters, who clashed with the Biden administration over immigration, has claimed that schools across the state have been “crippled by the flood of illegal immigrants,” and said that “we will do everything possible to help put Oklahoma students first.”
He has announced his intention to support immigration raids in schools “to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together.”
“We’re going to work with the Trump administration in any way they see fit,” Mr. Walters said in a recent television interview. “We will not allow schools to be sanctuary schools anymore.”
The move in Oklahoma comes as some educators and principals in American school districts are feeling anxious over immigration enforcement. In Fort Worth, for example, the school system began an investigation into social media posts apparently made by a substitute teacher who called for ICE agents to come to the high school where he worked.
In Chicago, reports of immigration agents appearing at the entrance of a public school set off widespread fear last week, but they were later proved false.
The plan in Oklahoma — approved unanimously by the six-member Oklahoma State Board of Education — will now move to the state legislature and the Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, for review.
The text of the rule change asserts that the policy would help “assess statewide and local educational needs,” including English as a second language teachers and tutoring programs.
That rationale has not sat well with many teachers, civil liberties organizations and immigration groups across Oklahoma, who convened protests over the proposed rule outside the state education headquarters in the lead-up to the vote on Tuesday.
Nicholas Espíritu, deputy legal director at the National Immigration Law Center, said in a statement that the requirement would violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
“All children have a constitutional right to equal access to education, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status,” Mr. Espíritu said. “Requiring school districts to collect information about immigration status illegally chills access to this opportunity, interfering with their ability to focus on their core mission.”
He pointed to a similar move in 2011 that made Alabama the first state in the nation to require its public schools to check the immigration status of students. The rule was later overturned after a federal lawsuit, but it still led to “markedly higher rates of absenteeism for Latino school children,” according to the American Immigration Council.
It was unclear whether all of Oklahoma’s more than 500 school districts would comply with the rule. Many districts have refused to follow a mandate from Mr. Walters last year that they teach the Bible across grade levels and subjects.
Unlike the Bible directive, though, the enrollment rule would carry the weight of the law.
Still, Jamie C. Polk, the superintendent of schools in Oklahoma City, said in a letter last month, after the proposal was announced, that her district “does not, nor do we have plans to, collect the immigration status of our students or their families.”
Education
Opinion | 13 George Washington Interpreters on Embodying an Icon
In our national memory, George Washington is a mythic figure, cast in metal, carved in stone. His leadership, first as general, then as president, is so intertwined with the roots of this country that it is sometimes hard to separate the man from the idea of America. How does one imagine the living presence of such an icon, much less embody him?
There is a small fraternity of men bold enough to try. At historical parks and commemorations from Virginia to Seattle, these interpreters (their preferred term) transform themselves into Washington. Each has his own approach, but what all their representations seek to capture is a legacy that has endured from his time to ours. If America, at least in part, is an idea, then our national project becomes, like theirs, an act of interpretation, an imperfect attempt to translate some idealized vision into the messy reality of our own time.
— Ezekiel Kweku
“By some strange quirk
of genetics, I have
Washington’s exact
dimensions. Where my
sleeves fall on my wrist,
the size of my chest, the
size of my thighs, where
the breeches fall to my
knees, are all identical.”
John Koopman, 67, often performs
while riding his horse, Bear. He
has portrayed Washington for 20 years.
James Fryer, 70, wears a replica of a general’s uniform that Washington designed himself. He recently completed training to portray Washington for the nonprofit Historic Philadelphia.
“Some people portray George as a marble statue. I don’t do a marble George. I am interested in talking to everyone, even those who yell at me because George was a slave owner. I want to respect them, try to educate them, or maybe even inspire them.”
Vern Frykholm, 77, was moved to bring his interpretation of Washington to Washington State, where he lives, after seeing a 2011 performance in Pennsylvania.
Dean Malissa, 73, signs his personal
correspondence, including emails,
as Washington did: “Your Most Humble
and Obedient Servant.” He became
the Official George Washington
at Mount Vernon in 2004, and held
that role for nearly 20 years.
“I describe him sometimes as just a dude. I look at him and think, I could see myself in the same world, making similar bad decisions or similar good decisions.”
Daniel Cross, 39, portrayed a young Washington at Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg until last year. He now works with organizations around the country.
Curt Radabaugh, 62, has 13,000 history books in his personal library, including several hundred about Washington. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marines and a retired police officer.
“He’s a mentor, a father
figure, and not only in the
sense that he’s a patriarch
of the country. Because
I grew up without a
father, he kind of became
my surrogate father.”
Brian Hilton, 58, says he researches
Washington’s era every morning before
his children get up and at night after
they go to bed. He is a high school history
teacher near Richmond, Va.
Daniel Shippey, 57, partners on interpretations with his wife, Kelly, who portrays Martha Washington. Kelly researched 18th-century hair techniques to create her husband’s costume hairstyle. They live in Virginia.
“You’re playing the myth of George Washington as well as the historical figure. I make his voice a little firmer and deeper than it probably was in real life. I play him a little funnier than he probably was. In reality, if you came to see him, he probably wouldn’t talk to you as much as I do.”
Doug Thomas, 53, is Washington’s second cousin nine times removed.
John Godzieba, 67, has reenacted
the crossing of the Delaware as
Washington every Christmas for the
past 16 years at Pennsylvania’s
Washington Crossing Historic Park.
“In many ways I don’t look like him. My eye color is wrong. My nose is wrong. My hair color is wrong. I wouldn’t have cast myself in this role.”
Ron Carnegie, 64, has portrayed Washington at Colonial Williamsburg for 20 years.
Ryan Williams, 37, is a veteran who specializes in playing a young Washington during the French and Indian War. He lives in Virginia.
“Some people portray
Washington almost
like a superhero.
I like to bring out that
he has faults. He’s a
person like you or me.”
Michael Grillo, 64, is a historical
tailor who hand-sews his own clothes
for reenactments. He also makes
period props, including two American
battle flags and pewter mugs
engraved with Washington’s crest.
Martin Schoeller is a photographer and director known for his close-up portraits of everyone from world leaders and celebrities to female bodybuilders. For this project, he used a large format camera to photograph 13 historical interpreters of George Washington — many of whom arrived in full uniform — over three days in Virginia and New York City.
Additional reporting by Tenzin D. Tsagong. Interviews have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Top quotes from Brian Hilton, Daniel Shippey and Daniel Cross.
Produced by Sara Barrett, Danny DeBelius and Sam Whitney. Additional production by Olivia James.
Education
This Little Robot Cleans Windows
One task the robots can take from us? Cleaning. Especially hard-to-access windows. So when writers Caroline Mullen and Evan Dent found this little guy — whose government name is “EcoVacs Winbot Mini” — they were intrigued. Could he clean the uncleanable? Caroline and Evan put their robot friend to the test at both the Wirecutter office and a high-rise apartment. Is a robo-window cleaner more effective than scrubbing yourself?
Education
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