Skip To Main Content

Guidance on Safeguarding the Rights of All Students, Including Immigrant Students

Guidance on Safeguarding the Rights of All Students, Including Immigrant Students

Dear Mount Vernon City School District Community,

In recent weeks, there have been significant changes within the government and to decades long existing policies. Among those policy changes is enabling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out immigration enforcement actions in churches and schools. This is of grave concern for our school community as this action threatens the sanctity of the safe learning environment that we seek to provide to all of our students, including noncitizen students. We seek to preserve our schools as a sanctuary for all our students. Every child, regardless of their immigration status, has the right to public education under the landmark Plyler v. Doe | 457 U.S. 202 (1982).

The Office of the New York State Attorney General (OAG), Office of the New York Governor and New York State Education Department, issued joint guidance in support of safeguarding the rights of all students, including noncitizen students.  The District is devoted to following these guidelines in order to protect all students and staff to the extent possible by the law. See link to the guidance below.

https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/bilingual-ed/2025.1-oag-go-sed-immigration-students-a.pdf

The Mount Vernon City School District is dedicated to ensuring all students have equal access to an education, no matter their immigration status, race or ethnicity.

The District is committed to keeping our scholars and staff safe while continuing to foster an environment that is inclusive to all.

Kind Regards,

Dr. K. Veronica Smith
Acting Superintendent of Schools

Click the icons below to view the letter in different languages:

English

Arabic

Chinese

French

Haitian Creole

Italian

Portuguese

Russian 

Spanish 

 

Dr. Smith and Betty Rosa

Today, Friday, February 14, 2025, marks the two-year anniversary of Dr. K. Veronica Smith’s first day as Acting Superintendent. Join the Mount Vernon City School District in wishing her a happy anniversary! In these two years, the District has emphasized its commitment to its scholars. Through the Back to Basics, Forward to Mastery approach, where teachers are getting back to the fundamentals of teaching and learning, the District has seen great academic improvements, leading graduation rates and test scores to trend upward. 

Yanick and Anna Valinda

Yanick St. Cyr and Anna Valinda Mendy, Mount Vernon High School 12th-grade Nursing Assistant Program students, volunteered at the Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) SkillsUSA Regional Competition on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at the Center for Career Services. Yanick and Anna are also in the SkillsUSA Club at MVHS.

Logo for news post

The Mount Vernon City School District’s superintendent search survey, conducted by Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), has been extended to Monday, February 24, 2025, at 11:59 p.m., to allow for further engagement with the community. HYA will present their leadership profile report at the Board of Education on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.

Click here to submit your responses.