Johnson County Community College is now requiring students to present proof of U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status in order to enroll in adult education courses.
The move appears to be a response to a directive issued last month by the U.S. Department of Education under President Donald Trump that said career, technical and other adult education institutions must take steps to “ensure that non-eligible illegal aliens do not receive assistance or payments from federally funded programs.”
A message at the top of the Johnson County Adult Education webpage currently reads:
“In response to current Federal requirements, starting July 28, 2025, students will be required to present the most recent documentation of their current US citizenship or immigration status as part of the course registration process.”
Documentation could include a Real ID, a birth certificate, a U.S. passport or other immigration documents. A link provided in the college’s notification lists other commonly used immigration documents, like naturalization papers and green cards.
JCCC is conducting 'verification' appointments
In an email sent to Johnson County Adult Education, or JCAE, staff members on Monday, July 28, JCAE program director Leslie Dykstra stated that all returning adult education students had been notified of the change.
“Students will be allowed to register or complete a student questionnaire informing us of their desire to study with us,” Dykstra said in her email.
After that, she said all adult education students would have to sign up for “verification appointments,” which were scheduled to occur between Tuesday, Aug. 5, and Friday, Aug. 8, to “determine qualifications to receive adult education services” at JCCC.
Dykstra asked any JCAE staff members or instructors “available to work during this time to support us in this process” to contact their program coordinator.
Chris Gray, JCCC’s vice president for strategic communications, said in an emailed response to questions, “JCCC’s compliance with federal requirements in this matter allows us to continue to serve qualified individuals for our JCAE programs.”
Gray noted that the college’s adult education program receives approximately $700,000 in federal grant funding annually, money that could be stripped away if JCCC was found to be out of compliance with the Trump administration’s rules.
One JCCC instructor has resigned
The new citizenship and immigration requirements were enough to prompt Daniel Tyx to quit his part-time job at JCCC.
Tyx taught English Language Learning courses for two semesters last year at the Overland Park campus.
He said his students hailed from at least 30 countries. They ranged from highly skilled doctors and lawyers looking to land similar jobs in the U.S., to younger students looking to use JCCC as a springboard to a four-year college.
“For a lot of them, it’s their dream to attend community college,” Tyx said. “They always come to class on time. They are always excited to be there. They always do their homework. It’s very important to them being students, it’s part of their identity.”
He acknowledged the position JCCC is in with the directive from the Trump White House, but he said he wished the college had fought harder against implementing the new requirements “until it became inevitable.”
“When I accepted the job [last year] my first question was, ‘Is JCCC going to serve all students?’ and at that time the answer was, ‘Yes,'” he said. “And so I felt comfortable taking the job at that time, but now I started reading the writing on the wall that we were no longer going to be an equal access program.”
He said that after the college announced it would begin requiring proof of citizenship or legal immigration status, students began reaching out to him “devastated” and “confused.”
Some of them told him they would not be able to continue on at JCCC, he said.
“The government always says [community college] is a public benefit, but it doesn’t feel that way to me right now,” he said.
Federal funding released
At the same time, the Trump administration recently released more than $5 billion in frozen education funding, including some $700 million in adult higher education money.
Released, too, are funds for K-12 schools, including millions of dollars in federal grants slated to go to Johnson County public school districts.
Heather Morgan, the executive director of the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees, representing the leaders of Kansas’ 19 community colleges, said they are “excited to continue to provide adult education services to the population deemed eligible by the federal government.”
“If a student is unable to receive adult basic education services we will strive to connect them with other services which can meet their needs,” she said in an emailed response to questions.
Though Tyx said he felt JCCC was “trying to get ahead of things” and set up verification processes early, Morgan said “all colleges have been instructed to ensure they are in compliance with all federal guidance.”
“We are thankful that the federal funding was released which enables us to serve students who are eligible for adult basic education services,” she said.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
