School districts, universities and state-level education leaders across the country are preparing their schools for the incoming Trump administration, including efforts to protect the children of illegal immigrants.
Many school districts are focusing efforts to strengthen protections for migrant students and families. These include mandatory training for teachers on what to do if immigration officials arrive at their schools and new rules barring them from showing up at all. Other districts are preparing measures to guarantee funding in case President-elect Trump cuts it.
“We will not allow any law enforcement agency to take any kind of action immigration action against our students or their families in our care,” Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Monday at a press conference.
According to local reports, Carvalho has pledged to use all available legal options to protect illegal immigrants who attend school in the district.
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Shortly after Trump’s election victory in November, the district’s board of trustees passed a resolution barring district employees from voluntarily complying with immigration authorities, including sharing information about students’ immigration status. Part of the resolution includes teacher training that teaches teachers the proper ways to respond to law enforcement.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho with LAUSD board members. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“Prepare to deal with misinformation. Prepare to deal with any action from Washington and be ready,” said LAUSD board member Monica Garcia.
Several districts also offer training for immigrant students and families. In Washington, the Edmonds School District planned a “Know Your Rights” session led by local Mexican consulate officials for immigrant members of its community.
The event was later canceled due to the backlash, but an official flier for the event said the Mexican consulate would be on hand to share with community members “how to prepare for immigration raids and your personal rights when approached, detained or detained by police or immigration agents.”
Oregon’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools, passed a resolution earlier this month reaffirming its commitment to declare itself a sanctuary for undocumented students. Under the updated resolution, employees are still not allowed to disclose a student’s immigration status without parental consent. And the district said it will not allow immigration officials into school buildings outside of the office.
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Nicole Neily, president and founder of the nonprofit Parents Defending Education (PDE), said there is “no doubt” that the increase in illegal immigration has negatively burdened schools, not helped them. She said the new administration will not tolerate schools ignoring her policies.
“Given the poor state of civics education in America, it’s no wonder administrators are operating under the false impression that they are above the law. But after January 20th, they should be aware that the new administration will not look kindly on these transgressions,” Neily said.
Parents Defending Education co-founder Nicole Neily speaks at a parent rally on Capitol Hill on November 16, 2021. (Fox News)
Apart from measures aimed at mockery federal immigration authorities, some schools are preparing for possible funding cuts. Trump has signaled that he is open to potentially disbanding the Department of Education and has said in the past that he would strip federal funds from schools that do not follow the law.
Richmond Public Schools in Virginia plans to fund student lunches locally amid fears the Trump administration could get rid of the Community Eligibility Provision, a program that helps pay for student meals.
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“We’ve delivered millions of meals during the pandemic,” Superintendent Jason Kamras said. “So we’ll have to figure this out as well, if necessary.”
In California, state Superintendent Tony Thurmond said his school system is “prepared to introduce legislation that would guarantee funding for California schools and California education” if Trump gets rid of it.
Tony Thurmond, candidate for superintendent of public instruction, speaks at the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Colleges and universities are also taking steps to protect their international students from possible deportation under Trump, several of whom have encouraged their overseas students to return to campus ahead of Trump’s inauguration later this month. They also offered resources for non-citizen students.
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“The travel ban will likely go into effect shortly after the inauguration,” Cornell University’s Office of Global Learning said in a message to students after Trump won.
