California school districts are working to reassure parents who may be scared to bring their kids to school – since the Trump administration made it clear that immigration authorities will no longer be discouraged from conducting raids in sensitive places such as schools, churches, and health-care facilities.
Data show that one in ten children in California has an undocumented parent.
Laura Fisher – the assistant superintendent of student support services with Desert Sands Unified School District, about 2 1/2 hours north of the border – said while the district does have to comply with a judicial subpoena, student safety comes first.
“We’d be asking for the officers’ credentials, contact information, the details of the request,” said Fisher, “and ask to see a copy of any reason for them being on the school grounds, and any documentation that authorizes their school access – before we would allow anything.”
DSUSD recently sent home a letter to all parents reassuring them that the district has protocols in place and will protect the confidentiality of student data if ICE shows up.
Fisher said schools will work to minimize any disruption on campus, and provide mental-health counseling upon request.
So far, she said, the district has not seen a significant drop in attendance since the inauguration.
Luis Valentino recently retired as superintendent at Coachella Valley Unified School District.
He said the Trump administration’s new policy will hurt teacher retention, and place undue pressure on staff, students, and families.
“It is creating an environment of fear that will make it very difficult for school systems to recover from,” said Valentino. “The amount of stress that is being placed on the students and on communities, it could be irreparable. It’s going to be as bad if not worse than COVID was.”
