The Harrisburg School District’s admissions policy led to the denial of enrollment in the 2016-17 academic year for four refugee students whose families had resettled in Harrisburg. On February 23, 2017, lawyers from the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Community Justice Project sent a letter to Superintendent Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney to inform her that the policy is illegal under federal and state law.
The four students were eventually enrolled in school, and, on July 24, the district issued a new guidance on the admissions policy. The ACLU of Pennsylvania and Community Justice Project are concerned that the guidance is vague and that the same problems will recur.
