Watch a slide show and read all the stories in a series on the immigration of thousands of people from Casa Blanca to Tulsa.

Read all of the Tulsa World’s coverage of House Bill 1804.

Administrators wait to see whether a new law targeting illegal immigrants cuts enrollments.

Principals at Tulsa-area schools are reporting the loss of only a small number of Hispanic students in recent days due to House Bill 1804.

Many school officials said only time will tell whether the new state law, which is to take effect Thursday, will send more families on the run, causing more significant drops in enrollment

At Disney Elementary School in east Tulsa, which has one of the largest percentages of Hispanic students in the district, 48 percent, Principal Louis Galluzzi said one girl told him that Friday was her last day there.

"They were moving back to Mexico," Galluzzi said. "With 825 students total, that's just a drop in the bucket. But I know there are some nerves out there. People are concerned. I think most everyone is taking a wait-and-see approach."

Skelly Elementary School Principal Mike Howe echoed those sentiments.

"I hear rumors that this family

Skelly, 2940 S. 90th East Ave., has about 600 students, with about 30 percent of them Hispanic.

Judy Feary, the principal at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School, said its enrollment was down about 50 to 100 students -- Hispanic and others -- from its normal total as of Oct. 1. The school's student population is 55.4 percent Hispanic.

Myriam Puleo, a parent liaison for Union Public Schools, said she had talked with a handful of parents who were concerned about what HB 1804 would mean for them.

Puleo said she was translating Friday for the mother of a Union student, and when the topic of Early Head Start or Parents as Teachers making home visits came up, so did the new law.

"She was hesitant, because she really did not know if she's going to be here or not. I think in other circumstances she would have said, 'Great,' but she was hesitant because she was thinking about whether to go back or not," Puleo said.

The woman has a child with a disability, Puleo said, adding that she believes the mother is concerned that her child would not receive the same education and services in her home country.

Another mother recently called Puleo to say that her husband had been deported.

"She lives in fear that she's going to be stopped and deported," Puleo said.

Generally speaking, however, Puleo said, immigrants view the school system as a safe place, and those who are anchored in the area likely will keep their children in school.

"I think the implication that they are sensing is mostly the men at the employment level. They're looking at the practical side of this: Will they be able to work and find housing?" she said.

Keith Isbell, a spokesman for Broken Arrow Public Schools, said the district had not had any decrease in Hispanic enrollment so far this school year.

"We've got roughly 100 more kids who speak English as a second language than last year," he said.

The law will not change the district's prime directive, he said. "Federal statutes require us to educate children living in our school district," he said.

Isbell did say that the district altered school identification badges in response to the law. The badges now say, "Badge valid only for employee identification in Broken Arrow Public Schools."

Susan Oare, the principal at Jenks East Elementary School, said she had not seen a decrease in enrollment there, and she is not sure that she would know of such a drop in advance anyway.

"I don't think that they would tell us if they're going to leave. They're not going to tell us in advance would be my guess," she said. "And it does not really affect our business, because we will continue to educate the children that come to us."

Sherri Fair, the principal of the Union district's Boevers Elementary School in east Tulsa, said she believed four students have left her school because of the legislation.

"I've had just a couple of families who've mentioned it as they were leaving, yes," she said. "I think most of what I've heard is wait and watch. I haven't seen a panic like a mass exodus, and our fall enrollment was not down at all."

About 30 percent of Boevers' students are Hispanic, she said.

World staff writer Sara Plummer contributed to this story.

Andrea Eger 581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

Nora Froeschle 581-8310
nora.froeschle@tulsaworld.com