Texas Gov. Greg Abbott set to challenge decades-old Supreme Court ruling that ensures free public education for all children
Elizabeth Alba Santos is a proud daughter of Mexican-immigrant parents who is currently the first vice president of District I of the Houston Independent School District. Santos has been active with the district since 1986.
Santos believes that free public education is essential for all students regardless of their citizenship status. However, Gov. Greg Abbott is set to challenge Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court ruling that ensures free public education for all children, including undocumented students.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- The mighty, mighty hypocrites!
- Fighting for justice!
- Fighting for justice!
ELIZABETH SANTOS: I saw so many years and generations of people being attacked by the Governor, and it was heartbreaking, sad, devastated. Many of my student-- my former students are now teachers that were once undocumented, and so many of my students have gone on, furthered their education. The ripple effect is literally denying a future for communities, for children.
- 40 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled on Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 law that has allowed children in the United States to have a right to a free public education, regardless of their or their parents' immigration status.
DOMINGO GARCIA: To not educate these children is one of the most hate mongering and fearmongering politics that Governor Abbott has ever engaged, that he would even consider trying to put children on the streets and taking them out of schools.
- Governor Greg Abbott claims that the public education system in Texas is being overwhelmed by the number of undocumented students in the world, but school leaders like Santos says that that's not true. But the ripple effects of this law were to be stretched down could be more devastating.
ELIZABETH SANTOS: We would lose millions and millions of in funding. School districts would begin denying enrollment to children. Communities would become unsafe. Just classroom dynamics, our students thrive off of one another, and they learn from each other.
And I can't stress that enough, the diversity of a classroom in both socioeconomic status, religion, every individual person makes up a classroom dynamic, much like society.
- Santos has been with the Houston School District since 1986, starting as a marching band student. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first Latina to hold this position on the school board, she says she will fight for all her students to have access to an education.
ELIZABETH SANTOS: It's a community that's humble and that just wants to work. And he's attacking a community that doesn't normally speak up and speak out.
DOMINGO GARCIA: You have undocumented children that are growing up and become Dreamers, are now lawyers, doctors, or they're helping our economy at all levels. And this is something that makes America very unique, that we do welcome immigrants and bring in the best and the brightest, the hardest working, really heroes of America.
