The changes aim to give staff clear guidelines and keep its welcoming district commitment to its students, reports NBC 7’s Audra Stafford.
San Diego Unified School District expanded its rules about how staff should respond if immigration officers try to access the school for immigration enforcement reasons.
The board approved the new policies after President Trump’s administration removed a federal policy that limited enforcement in schools and other sensitive locations.
“Many students have not been going to school. They’ve stopped going out of fear,” Pablo Lizarraga said.
Lizarraga’s son is enrolled in the San Diego Unified School District.
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He said some parents have stopped taking their kids to school because they fear with the Trump Administration policy change, immigration officers may show up at school.
“It’s a very serious problem because we are right near the border,” Lizarraga said.
On Tuesday, San Diego Unified renewed its focus to make their schools a safe space, regardless of immigration status.
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Now, staff is required to also notify the Bureau of Children’s Justice if immigration enforcement tries to access schools or student information.
A new district task force also ordered “know your rights” cards for immigrants in four languages.
“I think schools should be a place that’s 100% safe for students because we send them to school, we expect them to be in a safe place,” Lizarraga said.
The updated policies come on the heels of the school board’s decision in December to approve a resolution making San Diego Unified a “welcoming district."
As part of that commitment, staff was required to follow four steps in the event an immigration officer tries to access the school or information for immigration related purposes.
Last December, Interim Superintendent Fabi Bagula, Ph.D., shared the following words while speaking in support of the resolution affirming San Diego Unified as a “welcoming district”.
“We recognize that students bring their whole selves to our classrooms, their cultures, their dreams, their fears, and we have to meet them with unwavering care,” Bagula said.
In addition to the resolution, the rules also include notifying the superintendent or designee, giving the student and family “appropriate notice,” documenting the request for information, and notifying parents of court orders, warrants, or subpoenas before responding to requests, except in certain circumstances.
The rules also direct staff to contact school police, the superintendent, a parent or guardian, when law enforcement tries to access the school or information for immigration enforcement reasons.
Julio Guzman worries about his two daughters who are San Diego Unified students. He said hearing that immigration officers could show up at school campuses makes him feel very uncomfortable.
“They should definitely contact parents because the student is a minor,” Guzman said.
Despite the fears, parents Like Juan Sanudo said they’re comforted by emails from the district reassuring his family that their child will be safe at school.
“We want our son to look forward to going to school and for him to feel reassured that he will be safe and comfortable and for him to not fear that something is going to happen to him or one of his classmates,” he said.
NBC 7 reached out to the San Diego Unified School District, but Board Members were unavailable for comment.
