Dear HISD Community,
Many of our staff are receiving questions about how HISD manages state and federal law enforcement agencies on our campuses. We want to assure you that our policies have not changed, and they align with Houston ISD’s mission to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment for all students.
As always, HISD educates all students registered to attend our campuses, and nothing about the registration process for students has changed.
All student information is protected by federal law, specifically, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This law prohibits the dissemination of student information and or records, without a lawful subpoena/warrant or permission from the student’s parents except in specific circumstances. HISD cannot and will not release any student records or information unless the FERPA requirements are met.
We have also not changed any of our policies related to law enforcement activity on our campuses. School administrators and front office staff are trained in engagement with law enforcement to ensure that student rights and information are protected, and any law enforcement action is managed by HISD Legal Services. Law enforcement is only granted access to students or student information when HISD Legal Services has verified that all required steps have been taken, and the law enforcement action does not violate any of the federal privacy protection afforded students and their records. We will update you if there are any required changes because of modifications to federal or state law.
As always, HISD is committed to educating every child who walks through our doors. We appreciate your continued support and partnership.
That’s going to be an issue for every school district and charter school everywhere now, and it has the potential to be very ugly. We’ll just see how this plays out, because we just don’t know yet how often this situation may arise or how aggressive the cops in question may be.
A group of Texas lawmakers on Thursday urged education officials to issue “clear and detailed guidance” to school districts on how to prepare for federal immigration enforcement after the Trump administration eliminated a policy that long prevented officers from making arrests on school grounds.
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus sent a letter to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath calling on the department to provide direction to school districts on protecting student records, establishing procedures for interacting with immigration authorities and providing mental health resources for anxious and fearful students.
The prospect of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers “entering classrooms to detain and remove students presents an unimaginable threat to Texas children’s physical safety, emotional wellbeing, and ability to learn,” the lawmakers’ letter says. “It is imperative that the TEA act swiftly to protect the integrity of our educational institutions and the wellbeing of our students by ensuring that Texas schools are fully informed of their rights and responsibilities when faced with federal immigration enforcement actions.”
[…]
Lawmakers sent the letter days after the Tribune reported on how several Texas school districts are taking a cautious, “wait and see” approach to the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, citing concern about potentially causing panic among their communities and disrupting students’ education.
Although the Trump administration has now rolled the sensitive locations policy back, two long-standing federal protections remain in place: the U.S. Supreme Court’s Plyler v. Doe ruling and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. Those protections override any policy memo that immigration officers follow, according to New York-based immigration rights attorney Brad Bernstein.
Plyler makes clear that states cannot deny a child an education based on their citizenship status or take actions that would discourage them from enrolling in school — like conducting immigration enforcement activities on campus. FERPA ensures that schools can protect children’s personal information in student records, requiring them to receive written consent or a court order before they can release private information. Schools also cannot ask students about their immigration status.
Immigration rights advocates and attorneys recently told the Tribune that school districts should have robust plans in place in case immigration officers show up on their campuses. They advise that those plans should include guidance on how to interact with officers and what to do if a child’s parent does not show up to pick them up from school, presumably because of an immigration-related arrest.
Several school districts told the Tribune they planned to consult with their district’s legal counsel before making any decisions about whether to allow immigration enforcement to occur at their schools. They also said they planned to prioritize student safety.
You can see the letter here. It would have been nice to get everyone’s signature on it, but this was clearly put together in a hurry, so that probably limited the number of signers. I’ll be very interested to see how Mike Morath responds. It also won’t surprise me if we get some bills introduced that would chip away at or try to evade altogether those federal protections. I don’t know that they’d get anywhere, but you know how that sort of thing goes – no wingnut idea ever truly dies at this place.