Northwest Indiana Discussion

D.215 targeting illegal students
Two students removed last week due to residency
BY PHIL ROCKROHR
Times Correspondent



CALUMET CITY | Earlier this school year, District 215 booted as many as 10 illegal students in one month, Superintendent Robert Wilhite said.

Since then, the crackdown on illegally enrolled students in Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215 has netted about two each month and more at the start of the second semester, Wilhite said. And last week, the board of education "disenrolled" two more, he said.

"We have altered our policy to look at residency even more closely," Wilhite said. "This just happens to be one of the outcomes of the process."
When the district discovers a student who does not live within its enrollment boundaries, the accused student's parents can request a due process hearing, Wilhite said. The parents and district officials then present information to an impartial hearing officer, he said.

The two students kicked out last week each sought such a hearing, and the officer ruled against them.

"In this case, these two students were found to be illegal residents," Wilhite said. "Typically, we will then send a letter to parents and let them pay money to stay or they will have to be disenrolled. In this case, the board voted to disenroll."

Students must pay about $11,000 a year to attend District 215 schools if they do not live in the district, he said.

D.215 experiences problems with illegal students because other area high schools are on the state's watch list for inadequate academic progress, Wilhite said.

"People want to come in our schools," he said. "We get people from Indiana because the border is right here. We get a lot from (Thornton Township High School District) 205 because they are so close to us."

In some cases, parents mistakenly think that because they live in Calumet City, Lansing or Lynwood, their children automatically go to District 215 schools, Wilhite said.

Such is not the case. A significant portion of Calumet City, and a small section of Lansing lie in District 205. Part of Lynwood is in Bloom Township High School District 206, Wilhite said.

This year, District 215 required all freshman and new students to prove their residency to registrars, he said.

"We spot check randomly, just to make sure we're staying on top of the situation," Wilhite said.

The names of students removed from schools for attending illegally are confidential and may not be released to the public.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations, Superintendent Wilhite, this should have taken place a looooooooong while back. Good job, anyway, it is a start.

As I drive THROUGH Calumet City, I see all those black and white bums doing NOTHING but smelling up the city, that smells anyways. I even saw Big White Guy, aka, Big, White Lard Azz, jiving with the bros. I think these busybodies should be deported back to their native countries in Africa or Europe. and we all know where BWG will be shipped to!

Do you have any clue what-so-ever what you are talking about?

YES