Complications from immigration law cause headaches at Georgia… | www.myajc.com

A state law meant to crack down on illegal immigration is burdening schools with paperwork and threatening or delaying student-related events, educators complain.

From traveling on field trips to renting spaces for proms and other school functions to paying for staff training and development, some education activities are being thrown into question because of a law passed in the last legislative session. The measure directs schools and other public employers to make sure vendors they do business with hand over affidavits showing they’ve conducted federal e-verify checks that workers are legal U.S. residents.

Abiding by the law, known as Senate Bill 160, is proving to be a challenge because many school accounting systems are not well-equipped to collect the information, state auditors said. Plus, some vendors outside Georgia are not providing the affidavits or other documentation — leaving students and teachers in a lurch when trying to plan important events.

In Fulton County, a group of about 30 students from Chattahoochee High School recently sought to buy train tickets to attend a prestigious science competition at Yale University. But they were not able to obtain the necessary affidavit from the train company, school officials said.

“Those problems are out there,” said Claire Arnold, director of the Education Audit Division for the state auditor’s office. “Virtually across the whole gamut we’ve been receiving questions. Pretty much each school district is having to consult with their legal counsel as to what meets the requirements of the statute and what they need to do.”

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