The Texas State Teachers Association today called on Gov. Greg Abbott and state Education Commissioner Mike Morath to begin developing and funding a plan for evaluating and providing education services to the growing number of immigrant children who are being separated from their families and detained on the Texas-Mexico border.

“We don’t know how long these children will be in Texas, but as long as they are here, the state of Texas has a moral obligation to educate them,” said TSTA President Noel Candelaria. “TSTA abhors the Trump administration’s cruel policy of separating these children from their parents. The least we can do is offer comfort and provide educational opportunities while they are here.”

Since mid-April, the government has separated at least 2,000 immigrant children, many of school age, from their parents at the border. Unless this misguided policy is changed, hundreds more children will be detained in the coming weeks.

In a landmark decision, Plyler v. Doe, which originated in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that states cannot deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status. That ruling is still the law of the land.

“Most schools are closed for the summer, but they will reopen within two months. It is time for Gov. Abbott and Commissioner Morath to begin putting together an education plan for these children. This should include a plan for funding, and it should begin by allowing educators access to detention centers to evaluate the children’s educational needs,” Candelaria added.

“Members of the Texas State Teachers Association in the affected school districts are ready to assist.”