Fort Smith Schools and Immigration Laws

Benny Gooden, The Fort Smith School Superintendent, says he plans to educate all children, whether their parents are illegal immigrants or not. He says it’s not the schools’ job to determine if people are documented. Gooden says, “Enforcing the immigration laws of the nation is attached to other agencies. Thats not a school issue. The schools’ issue is serving children whose residence is in, in our case, Fort Smith.” Several parents we spoke to agree. Cindy Moye, for example, says, “The kids, they cant really help it. Theyve got to go where their parents go, if theyre legal or illegal. If theyre here, I think they should learn.” Another parent, Lori Smith, says, “If theyre here, they have a right to their education like every other kid here in the United States does.” One out of every five students in Fort Smith has trouble speaking English. Gooden says the schools aim to fix that. One parent we spoke to says she hopes the classroom diversity will help her child. Smith explains, “It would be great for other kids to learn their language too because it does help, because there are so many people around here that speak different languages.” Gooden says Fort Smith schools are doing their best to increase English proficiency. He says they’ve already seen improvements in test scores.