I'd think that if anything, the teachers' union would pull his chestnuts out of the fire.
The question appears to me to be: is it improper for a teacher to ask a student if he is an American, or New Mexican, so that he has a right to the benefit of an education paid for by American taxpayers.
I see the term `gringo' thrown about by people who should know better; when I first saw the post, I thought the teacher had applied a pejorative term to the student.
It looks like `political correctness or `mau-mauing'.
"It looks like `political correctness or `mau-mauing'."
Actually, I don't think the teacher should approach the student. The student isn't at fault here. This is an issue between the school and the parents. I think that approaching the student has no positive gain, and can only make the student feel bad, (even if he were a legal American).
But the issue SHOULD be persued with the parents. Obviously it won't.