A California school district is arranging for migrant children to get in-person teaching — even as all local kids remain stuck in virtual classes.
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) confirmed to Fox News that it is “providing the educational program for the unaccompanied migrant children” staying at the San Diego Convention Center.
It sparked outrage from local parents, education leaders and lawmakers as local children remain in online-only classes until at least April 12, when the plan is to switch to a hybrid model.
“We have 130,000 kids who haven’t been allowed in a classroom for over a year,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Fox News.
“It’s great that there’s in-person learning for those unaccompanied minors from Central America, but I wish every child in San Diego County was allowed the same opportunity for in-person teaching,” he said.
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa also ripped the speedy offer of in-person education when local families have been “told to wait” for “more than a year” for the same chance.
Rep. Juan Vargas at the shelter in the San Diego Convention Center on March 27, 2021. Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP“The decision to provide in-person instruction to illegal migrants is outrageous and parents have every right to be angry,” Issa told Fox.
Local parent Emily Diaz called it “immoral.”
“The system is broken when San Diego teachers are teaching migrant children in person, but the 100k students of taxpaying families at San Diego Unified School District are stuck learning in Zoom school,”Diaz told Fox News in an email.
Asylum seeking unaccompanied minors Angie, 11, and Elene, 15, from Honduras, await transport by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft in La Joya, Texas. Reuters“We agree that every child deserves an in-person education, but why are taxpaying students put last? If this is a humanitarian issue then who is rescuing San Diego Unified students, because our leaders have failed them,” Diaz added.
A spokeswoman for the district told the outlet that the teachers are getting involved “voluntarily.”
A spokeswoman for the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) said, “All children in California, regardless of immigration status, have a constitutional right to education.
“We also have a moral obligation to ensure a bright future for our children.”
