Two Massachusetts migrant advocacy groups are suing Saugus Public Schools over the district’s admissions policy, which they describe as “exclusionary,” while officials argue it’s written similarly to those elsewhere.

Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children escalated their fight with the North Shore district on Wednesday, filing a civil complaint in Essex Superior Court that seeks to “uncover documents” related to the policy — students must be “legal residents whose actual residence is in Saugus.”

The groups demanded the district to rewrite the policy ahead of the school year last month, a request subsequently turned down. That triggered a letter to Attorney General Andrea Campbell, asking her office to open an investigation.

Under the policy, families who move to Saugus must complete the town’s census to be eligible for registration. They must also produce proof of residency, occupancy and identity with acceptable documents such as a Massachusetts driver’s license or photo ID card, a U.S. passport or another government-issued photo ID.

The superintendent could require more documentation and investigate if questions arise under the policy, written two days after Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency over the influx of migrants in August 2023.

“No child who actually resides in Saugus will be denied access to school because of his or her immigration status or the immigration status of his or her parent(s)/guardian(s),” a portion of the policy reads.

Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children, in its complaint, argued that the policy is “causing numerous harms to young students, including months of missed school and inability to secure transportation to and from school.”

The groups highlighted how they filed a records request in April, seeking documents on why the policy was created and how it’s being implemented, but they said Saugus officials produced only one document: the policy itself.

In its complaint, the groups ask the court to demand the district to “turn over internal policies, forms, and School Committee emails and texts related to the Policy.”

“The public has a right to know why the Saugus School Committee approved this illegal policy in the first place and how it is being used to exclude young children from school,” Lawyers for Civil Rights attorney Erika Richmond Walton said in a release. “Transparency is critical, particularly when the government is violating the rights of vulnerable schoolchildren.”

School Committee Chairman Vincent Serino told the Herald Wednesday afternoon that he “didn’t know anything about the lawsuit” because he had yet to see it. He added that he was briefly told it was about records.

“They are welcome to any records we have,” Serrino said via phone. “They have the policy … Everything is open record so I don’t know what they want.”

When informed the groups requested text messages and emails to be turned over, Serrino said, “There is no text messages or emails on it. There was a policy meeting, it was done, we’re not texting about it so they have everything.”

Lawyers for Civil Rights and Massachusetts Advocates for Children have taken exception to how they believe the School Committee has exceeded “statutory authority by impermissibly denying enrollment to children whose families do not complete the Town of Saugus Census.”

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The documentation requirements, they say, “disproportionately impact immigrant and mixed-status families.”

Speaking of the policy at a meeting last month, Serrino said the School Committee would “continue as always” with the policy, saying it ensures “our students are residents of Saugus and not surrounding communities.”

“We owe that to our students, teachers, support staff and taxpayers,” he added. “As with all of our policies, these are vetted before we go to vote on them, and our policies align with a bunch of other Massachusetts communities. It’s not different.”