If ICE Comes To School: CA Issues Guidance For Teachers, Staff

CALIFORNIA — As Trump administration officials this week said they're planning to conduct immigration enforcement near or in schools, state and local education leaders in California rebuked the move and issued guidance to immigrant students and families about their rights.

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday reversed a 2011 policy that prohibited immigration authorities from detaining immigrants near locations like schools, child care centers, playgrounds, hospitals and churches.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in (Customs and Border Protection) and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.

That same day, the state Department of Education sent a letter to local public education administrators with resources for immigrant students and families and reminders about their rights.

“Our schools must be a safe place for children to learn and educators to teach. In line with federal and state law, California’s schools can take actions to ensure that all students have access to school campuses and educational opportunities without fear of deportation,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond wrote.

And Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday issued guidance to schools and other institutions on how to honor the privacy of undocumented immigrants and limit assistance to federal immigration enforcement.

“Every child has the right to a free public education, regardless of their immigration status,”Bonta said in a statement. “I know there is a lot of fear and anxiety around the incoming administration’s anticipated changes to immigration policy, and I want to make sure students, their parents, and their teachers and school administrators are prepared."

Under state law, school officials are not required to allow immigration agents to enter schools without a warrant issued by a judge, Ed Source reported.

Bonta said that all children, regardless of theirs or their family's immigration status, have a right to equal access to free public education. The 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe found that public schools could not request citizenship documentation of students nor deprive children of an education, Education Week reported.

Additionally, Bonta said that parents generally must give consent by law before schools can release students' personal information.

The attorney general said the issue is personal to him: Bonta's family immigrated from the Philippines to the U.S. when he was an infant to escape the rise of martial law and dictatorship in their native country.

Bonta said his office is reviewing Trump's executive orders and are "ready to defend the rights of Californians if we find that the president has in any way violated the law."

He already filed a lawsuit against Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, which is at odds with the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

School officials are bracing for the consequences of the Trump administration’s order allowing immigration enforcement near schools.

The Association of California School Administrators in a statement said that past experience shows "this decision will result in some students not attending school, families disengaging, academics being disrupted, and severe impacts on social-emotional well-being."

Locally, the superintendent of schools for Los Angeles County issued a statement saying the county Office of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to "a safe, secure and nurturing learning environment."

“The change to the policy does not overrule the student’s constitutional right to an education. It also does not overrule state constitutional protections,” Debra Duardo said. “Our schools are mandated to ensure that no student is denied enrollment or faced with barriers to their educational opportunities based on their or their family’s immigration status.”

Los Angeles Unified School District has begun training all staff on how to respond if immigration officers show up at schools and will be distributing cards to students outlining their rights if approached by agents, Ed Source reported.

Many other districts across the state have already issued guidance or say they plan to.

For example, the Sacramento-area Folsom Cordova Unified School District issued information about its longstanding directives regarding immigration authorities, which includes directives such as "If an immigration officer approaches you during school time while you are on our campus, direct them to the Principal or school personnel about the information request," KCRA reported.

Los Angeles Unified, San Francisco Unified and Sacramento City Unified are among the school districts that have "sanctuary"-type policies on their books.

In November, the LAUSD board adopted a resolution reaffirming its previous declaration as a "sanctuary district," which stated the district will "aggressively oppose any effort to create federal laws, policies, or practices that require school districts to cooperate with federal agencies and immigration personnel in any way related to immigration enforcement action."

Under the resolution, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was instructed to develop a plan within 60 days outlining the district's support for immigrant students and staff. The plan will "include training for all teachers, administrators, and other staff on how to respond to federal agencies and any immigration personnel who request information about students, families, and staff, and/or are attempting to enter school property, as well as a thorough effort to communicate the district's sanctuary policy and plan to all district families in the language that they speak.

The San Diego Unified School District board adopted a resolution supporting students regardless of immigration status and affirmed that the district would not permit ICE to access its facilities without a warrant, KPBS reported.