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By Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat
Denver teachers would be prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration agents without a warrant, and school police officers would be barred from ticketing or arresting students if it would put the students at risk of deportation under a policy the Denver school board could discuss later this month.
A draft of the proposed policy was posted online Thursday before the school board’s late afternoon meeting. But the board didn’t discuss it, and the proposal wasn’t formally introduced.
The idea for the policy came from Latino community groups whom board President Xóchitl Gaytán said feel “a sense of urgency” as immigration enforcement activity has ramped up nationwide.
“All district-managed and charter school properties, including school buildings, grounds, bus stops, school transportation, and school-sponsored events, are designated as Safe Zones and Sensitive Locations for students, families, and employees,” the proposal says.
Gaytán wanted to add a special public comment session to Thursday’s meeting to allow two advocacy groups — Movimiento Poder and the Latino Education Coalition — to speak about the proposal, which she said they helped write.
But other board members said they hadn’t had a chance to read the policy, since it was only posted earlier that day. All six members besides Gaytán voted against holding the special public comment session. As such, Gaytán said the board couldn’t discuss the proposal Thursday. She implied it would happen at the board’s next meeting on Feb. 19.
The proposal says the superintendent and all employees of Denver Public Schools’ district-run schools and independently run charter schools should:
- Not give federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “access to property, records, or video recordings without a valid judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.”
- Not allow students to be questioned, detained, or removed from school custody by federal agents without a warrant and a review by the school district’s attorney.
- Not comply with ICE detainer requests.
- Not collect or disclose information about the immigration status of students, families, or employees unless it is required by a court order or by state or federal law.
- Not allow school resource officers “to consult, communicate, or share student or family information” with federal agents or police officers not assigned to a school.
- Not allow school resource officers to ticket or arrest a student “if the ticket or arrest would put a DPS student at risk of deportation.”
- Help staff who have legal protections under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, navigate “potential legal, employment, and immigration challenges” if DACA is rescinded.
DPS has long been vocal in its support of immigrant students. The district sued the Trump administration a year ago in an attempt to reinstate a policy that treated schools as sensitive locations that were generally off limits to immigration enforcement.
DPS dropped the lawsuit in June after a judge found that there was little practical difference between the previous sensitive locations policy and the Trump administration’s changes, which directed agents to to use discretion “and a healthy dose of common sense.”
But lately, federal agents’ tactics have intensified across the country. While there have not been raids in schools, parents have reportedly been detained at bus stops and agents have reportedly tackled people and deployed chemical irritants on school grounds.
The proposal would be an addition to an existing policy about student conduct, discipline, and attendance called Executive Limitation 10. Executive limitations are essentially rules for the superintendent, who answers to the school board.
In voting against the special public comment session, board member John Youngquist said he respected the work of the community groups, but that introducing policies in that way wasn’t the board’s normal practice. Member Kimberlee Sia said that if the board was going to hold a special session, it should have been advertised before the meeting. Others agreed.
“My personal goal is to ensure that transparency is at the center,” board Vice President Monica Hunter said. “I fully support the mission of Movimiento (Poder) and I want to be able to honor their work and get a chance to review the materials.”
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
