ATLANTA – State Representative Marvin Lim (D-Norcross) issues the following statement regarding Gwinnett County Public Schools’ (GCPS) enrollment on their first day of school:
“I wholeheartedly thank Gwinnett County Public Schools, including Interim Superintendent Al Taylor, for working with me to improve enrollment processes in response to the previous GCPS administration’s requirements regarding school zone confirmation. Robust enrollment is as important as ever in the 2025-2026 school year, and above all, because of our constant commitment that children receive a quality education, but also because of the recent changes in public school funding at both federal and state levels. No child should be left unenrolled simply because they live in precarious housing situations. And, unfortunately, with both rising housing costs and the proliferation of investor-owned housing, those most impacted during enrollment are those with the most precarious housing.
I particularly appreciate that GCPS has worked to strengthen processes for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act enrollment, as well as being committed to providing ample resources at the district level for trained home visitation. These are critical resources regardless, and I am grateful to GCPS for appreciating that. I continue to call on GCPS to ensure, despite any changes in funding, that they provide sufficient resources for our principals, registrars and other staff for enrollment. We know how much our school-level personnel on the frontlines already shoulder, so let us continue to equip them. Ultimately, we should consider even one child withdrawn or missing any days of school due to school zone confirmation – at least, before the district has deployed resources for visitation or similar means – as something imperfect with us and not them and an indication that we can continue to improve our processes. On this first day of school, I know we have gotten the numbers down through considerable effort; inevitably, there will be more to go.
To that point: if any parent in the Meadowcreek cluster continues to face challenges with enrollment, we ask them to reach out, confidentially, to myself, 85 Community Development Corporation and the Latino Community Fund, via https://tinyurl.com/residencygcps. We want to help regardless of your circumstances, and I thank these nonprofits for working with me on this initiative. Our goal here, above all else, is simply to keep our students in our classrooms. Because we, the adults, must never be the unwitting barrier to children following our age-old advice: ‘stay in school.’”
*Editor’s note: Rep. Lim includes a graphic.
Representative Marvin Lim represents the citizens of District 98, which includes a portion of Gwinnett County. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Agriculture & Consume Affairs, Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety, Health and Retirement committees.
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