It’s back-to-school time, and some families remain on edge as federal agents continue to crack down on immigrant communities across the country.
But Massachusetts is taking steps to protect its students, bringing schools into the fold to help keep children safe.
Earlier this month, Governor Maura Healey signed the PROTECT Act into law, which bans federal immigration agents from schools, churches and courthouses among other public places. Today, her administration released guidelines for schools and day cares across the state to follow if an ICE agent requests access to a student.
The timing is crucial because some school districts have already started classes this week, and the rest are soon to follow within the next two weeks.
Jessica Tang, the president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts chapter, said the organization is thankful that this guidance was turned around so quickly after the law was passed.
“If staff aren’t knowledgeable about what’s in the legislation and how to enact it in their schools as quickly as possible, then I think there might be a missed opportunity to ensure that our schools are the safe places they should be,” Tang said.
She added that there are so many people a child can interact with — starting with their bus driver, the front office staff and their teachers — each one of them needs to know what to do if they come across an immigration officer. That’s why this guidance is so helpful for the school districts, so everyone can have a clear understanding of what their responsibility is, and who to call.
The guidance put out by the governor — along with the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education — includes a 16-page document that is outlined by category, including various situations. This ensures that everyone knows what they should do in different scenarios.
“It’s more tools, more resources, more support and a strong message that Massachusetts is a place that welcomes immigrants,” Tang said. “We are going to do everything that we can to keep our immigrant families, and to be safe.”
The Healey administration has sent these policies, procedures and guidance out to all state-funded K-12 school districts and childcare programs. It also includes ways to help protect confidential information on the students.
“As families prepare for the new school year, every child should feel safe walking into their classroom and every parent should feel confident dropping them off,” Healey said in a statement.
The goal, Tang said, is to have consistency from district to district so that all kids can feel safe heading into the classroom soon.
