Teacher Tony Trujillo, who teaches an ESL adult-education class for the Tempe Union High School District, lost all of his students in the family-resource course he taught in Laveen.
Vanda Salls, director of adult education for the Tempe Union High School District, said the district has experienced a 20 percent drop in registration this year.
All three believe that the reason is Proposition 300, a law passed last
year that requires students to provide proper documentation that they are
legal United States residents and denies undocumented immigrants in-state
tuition or state-funded education.
Because the Tempe Union courses are free, potential students who cannot
provide these records cannot take the classes.
Salls said English classes have been hardest hit. She keeps a contact list
of nearly 40 people, first names only, who are willing to pay tuition should
the district develop a fee-based program that circumvents the law.
"We have started some exploratory conversations with the district on how to
incorporate that," Salls said. "Some students have studied for a number of
years and are getting ready to get their GED and could not continue."
She said the law has affected immigrants that have legal documentation but
are sometimes less willing to step forward or are intimidated by the
scrutiny. Her district follows the law, but Salls said it is difficult to
support it from an educator standpoint.
"Part of the district's mission is to reach out and work with the community
to make sure it's as strong as it can be," she said. "Prop. 300 has impeded
that mission and has presented a challenge."
An Arizona identification card allowed Tempe student Gasca to continue her
education. After two years of English, she is enrolled in the district's GED
program.
She and her family moved to Arizona from Mexico 13 years ago after her
husband lost his job. Part of her reason for going to back to school was to
show her two daughters the importance of education.
"You can show your kids that as an adult you still can grow," Gasca said.
She said the immigration laws make her upset. Most of her friends wanted to
learn English so they could communicate with their children who have become
Americanized and prefer to speak English only, she said.
The ESL classes that Trujillo teaches reflect the United Nations, drawing
students from China, Poland, Iran and Mexico. Trujillo said he keeps in
touch with students from his disbanded family-resource class.
"They are totally lost. It makes me sad," he said. "There's a lot of
potential; they really want to learn."
Virginia Seltenright, who teaches the GED class for the district's Adult
Basic Education program, said she now draws 10 to 12 students in her night
classes that used to regularly reach the 20-student capacity. She also said
Proposition 300 has had an impact.
"I would guess, yes. I see a lot of them trying to get their GED,"
Seltenright said. "It makes me angry because everyone should have that
opportunity."
Mesa resident Anely Villegas came to Arizona nine years ago for a chance at
a better life for her family, she said. She is in her second year of ESL and
hopes to earn her GED and eventually become a nurse. When registering, she
provided an Arizona driver's license as her documentation.
"It is not fair," Villegas said. "In America, they want us to speak only
English, but then they do not want us to get help."