More than 60 education and immigrant advocacy groups are calling on the Florida Department of Education to provide clearer guidance on how schools should handle immigration enforcement.
During a virtual press call on Wednesday, the groups announced demands they had outlined in an open letter to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz. They urged him to support protocols that would make schools a safe environment for students regardless of immigration status.
The call comes after the Trump Administration revoked a long-held policy that schools, along with churches and medical facilities, are designated "protected areas" where immigration enforcement is prohibited under most circumstances.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported the FLDOE has said that "Florida schools will cooperate with all law enforcement working to enforce the nation’s laws on illegal immigration and keep our schools safe," without further guidance on what that cooperation should look like.
Individual districts have since pointed to their policies that outline how they handle law enforcement that come to school campuses. Some of those polices state that immigration agents will need a valid warrant to access school property.
Many have also iterated that schools do not keep records of immigration status since that's not a requirement to attend public schools, according to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Plyler v. Doe.
They've also highlighted the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, as another federal protection for student privacy.
But even with these safeguards in place, not all policies are unified.
The protocols and language used have sometimes differed between districts, as school officials try to assure families that their classrooms are a safe place, while putting out a message that complies with federal immigration directives.
Districts in the Tampa Bay area said that the district's legal counsel should be notified if an immigration agent wants to interview a student or staff member.
Most say that the agent will need a valid judicial warrant as well.
However, Pinellas County Schools point to federal agents' "broad legal authority" that give them certain rights "even in the absence of a warrant."
This is why districts need the state's support, said Mina Hosseini, executive director of the Miami-based education nonprofit P.S. 305.
"School districts across the state should and must have the support to put protections in place. No immigration enforcement on school grounds, no collection of student immigration status, no school staff acting as immigration agents," Hosseini said.
The letter listed several points the groups want FLDOE to include in their guidance:
- Affirms the right — protected by federal law — of all students to a free public education, regardless of immigration status
- Prohibits federal immigration officials (or state and local authorities acting on their behalf) from entering school grounds unless they have received prior review and approval by district legal counsel
- Ensures school staff, students, and parents know their rights
- Prohibits collection of student immigration status and ensures that all requests for information align with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and are referred to the district superintendent’s office before any information is released
- Blocks school administration, staff, and faculty from becoming de facto immigration officials (e.g., detaining or searching students, inquiring about status)
- Requires the policies outlined above to be published and posted prominently on all school sites and shared with parents/guardians in the languages spoken in the students’ homes.
Advocates said that they have not heard of any reports of immigration agents showing up to school campuses.
But some families have been living in fear of what could happen ever since the policy change, said Latha Krishnaiyer, a representative of the Florida PTA.
"We are putting children's parents in a position that they are afraid to send their children to school. That should not be the case," said Krishnaiyer.
Meanwhile, immigration enforcement is taking place outside of schools, according to an account from a teacher. A member from the American Friends Service Committee read a letter on behalf of Santa Rosa teacher Valentina Pilonieta. In the letter, Pilonieta described helping her students navigate their mother's potential deportation.
"One mother has been detained for driving over the speed limit and now faces the possibility of being sent back and separated from her three kids. The desperation and fear is hard to put into words," Pilonieta wrote. "There have also been other cases of other parents getting pulled over and giving court dates.
"It's important that people know what's going on."
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