Jan 4, 2017 - and that âraidsâ or interviews would not occur at a school because of the disruption it would cause. A
DATE:
January 4, 2017
TO:
Board of Education
FROM:
Dr. Robert Leri, Superintendent Chief Learning Officer
SUBJECT:
Tahoe Truckee Unified School Sites as Safe Places For All
PRESENTED BY:
Dr. Robert Leri, Superintendent Chief Learning Officer
ACTION REQUESTED Tahoe Truckee Unified School Sites as Safe Places For All BACKGROUND INFORMATION “Safe Haven” Resolution Consideration You all saw the email requesting that we consider declaring TTUSD a “safe haven” school district. As you will recall, in January I shared the information from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction that included: “In this time of uncertainty, anxiety, and fear I strongly encourage you to join me in declaring our public schools “safe havens” for students and their parents and to remind families about existing laws that protect them and their students’ records from questions about immigration status.” We do have a large part of our school and community population concerned about the impact of the new administration in Washington and threats made during the campaign and recent executive orders. We have known this for some time and this is what prompted my phone and email message to all families on November 28, 2016. Dear TTUSD Community: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends. While holidays can be a time of celebration with family, it can bring up stressors as well. As we enter into the rest of the holiday season I want to reiterate to parents, students, and the community, our district’s commitment to providing a safe, respectful, and welcoming learning environment for all of our students. At TTUSD, our vision, beliefs, and values are built upon maintaining positive school climates that promote student learning and development for all. Recent national events have left some of our students feeling anxious and afraid. Strong emotions and feelings of conflict, fear, and vulnerability may continue to exist among many in our community for some time. As a school district, we are united in supporting
one another and in our commitment to always value each and every student we serve, and to uphold a culture of safety and respect. Keeping all of our students safe from discrimination, harassment, and bullying is a top priority. Our district has strong policies and procedures against any discrimination and harassment regardless of a student’s race, ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Any incident of bullying or harassment is unacceptable. Please help share our message about the importance of keeping everyone safe, and continuing to build a respectful and inclusive community. Sincerely, Dr. Robert Leri Superintendent Chief Learning Officer We have also posted a fact sheet on our web site outlining the “facts” for undocumented students and their families that was provided by the Association of California School Administrators. Click here to see the Fact Sheet. All of this information has also been shared with the District Leadership. My message and the posted information reflects current law and policies and is NOT advocating one way or the other regarding the current administration although it could be perceived to be by some. In all information we have shared is simply factual and addresses the safety of all students. I have included a brief article below about “safe haven” districts including a partial list of those who have passed resolutions. At the Superintends’ Symposium I attended a session on this topic led by the ACLU and the Superintendent from Morgan Hill Unified School District. The ACLU believes that any threat to federal funds for school district can’t be withheld based on current law that requires “failure to meet the requirements and obligations of federal funding.” The Morgan Hill superintendent didn’t agree and felt that “disobedience” could result in the loss of federal funding. No one really knows although “sanctuary” cities have been threatened directly with the loss of other federal funding. It is unclear if the Department of Education would pursue a similar tact since it would jeopardize services and supports directly provided to children. Morgan Hill did pass a resolution but did not use the term “safe haven” or “sanctuary.” There are legal distinctions between the two, and sanctuary has a legal basis that goes back to common law and includes the ability to defy legal authorities and/or laws. This was usually associated with churches (and others) granting sanctuary, and the broad definition has been more limited in recent rulings, but the underlying basis of the idea of defying legal authorities remain. There is no such basis for a declaration of a “safe haven” which is part of the reason the State Superintendent was specific in using this term indicating that existing laws including local policies (like ours) already provide legal protections and district are thus safe havens. The Morgan Hill resolution addresses safe campuses for all. WHEREAS, the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education is committed to the success of all students irrespective of their immigration status, ethnicity, race, religion, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic status. We believe that every student has the potential to achieve, and it is the responsibility of
our school district to give each student the opportunity and support to meet his or her highest potential; Their resolution also establishes practices related to data and to school visits by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We already have policies associated with this (as did Morgan Hill), but the resolution clearly details the procedures should ICE need to come to a school site. Internal ICE regulations declare schools to be “sensitive sites” and that “raids” or interviews would not occur at a school because of the disruption it would cause. A visit would require a court order and/or a verifiable threat to national security. So, that’s a lot of explanation about the idea of a resolution. I tend to lean towards the approach taken by Morgan Hill and some other districts if we want to consider passing a resolution. The consideration of a resolution would be seen as a positive sign of support by many members of our community; it would also be seen as a political statement by others whether we use the term “safe haven” or not. I talked to the San Juan Unified School District Superintendent on Wednesday about this and he said he would not be recommending any action to his board. He feels the board would be divided and would provide further divisions in the school district should it become a hotly debated item at the board level. Please let me know your thoughts, and I will follow up with Kim on how to proceed. Safe Haven School Districts – CalSchool News After the election results came rolling in several school districts took it upon themselves to issue resolutions declaring themselves "sanctuaries" for undocumented students, staff, and their families amid rising fears of deportation under the new federal administration. Multiple districts already had policies in place and simply reissued their promises. Additionally, in December 2016, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued a letter to County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and Principals calling for them to declare their districts and schools "safe havens." Below we have compiled a list of school districts who have passed such resolutions, and we will continue to add more as more resolutions are passed. Tom Torlakson - State Superintendent of Public Instruction (Public Schools Remain Safe Haven for California's Students) Alameda County Office of Education - Alameda County Alameda Unified - Alameda County (Resolution No. 2016-2017.48) Alisal Union - Monterey County (Resolution No. 1617-27) Alhambra Unified - Los Angeles County (Resolution 16-17-16) Bassett Unified - Los Angeles County (Resolution #17-17) Chula Vista Elementary - San Diego County Dublin Unified - Alameda County (Resolution No. 2016-17-27) Hacienda La Puente Unified - Los Angeles County (Resolution) Lincoln Unified - San Joaquin County (Resolution 17-01) Livingston Unified - Merced County (Resolution No. 10—2016/17) Los Angeles Unified - Los Angeles County Montebello Unified - Los Angeles County (Resolution No. 21(2016-2017)) Oakland Unified - Alameda County Palo Alto Unified - Santa Clara County (Resolution #2016-17.06) Pasadena Unified - Los Angeles County (Resolution 2386)
Pittsburg Unified - Contra Costa County (Resolution #16-12) Sacramento City Unified - Sacramento County (Resolution No. 2915) Salinas City Elementary - Monterey County (Resolution 2016/17-13) San Bernardino City Unified - San Bernardino County (Resolution) San Francisco Unified - San Francisco San Jacinto Unified - Riverside County (Resolution No. 16-17-23) San Rafael City Schools - Marin County (Resolution 1707) Santa Ana Unified - Orange County (Resolution No. 16/17-3157) Santa Maria Joint Union High - Santa Barbara County Santa Rosa City Schools - Sonoma County (Resolution No. 2016/17-034) Southern Humboldt Joint Unified - Humboldt County (Resolution 07-1617) Stockton Unified - San Joaquin County (Resolution No. 16-29) Tracy Unified - San Joaquin County (Resolution No. 16-16)
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
PREPARED BY: Robert Leri
Attachment: Staff report, resolution
