This is the current School Crossings article from SDMA Superintendent Joe Zydowsky
A number of executive orders were signed by President Trump this week that impact schools all across the United States, including schools in the School District of the Menomonie Area (SDMA). The SDMA has already received questions about the new executive orders specific to birthright citizenship and immigration, and school officials continue to study how these changes affect schools in the local community.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has notified school districts that the executive order on birthright citizenship does not impact enrollment in public schools regardless of the outcome of the current legal challenges.
According to DPI:
- A learner has the right to enroll in a public school regardless of citizenship status (Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
- A learner has the right to receive a free and appropriate public education (14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution).
- A learner has the right to enroll in and attend a public school without presenting a birth certificate, a green card, a visa, a social security number, or any other proof of citizenship (Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision).
Information about the possibility of immigration enforcement actions in schools is a little more complex. DPI has shared that pre-existing federal guidance deems a school as a “sensitive location” or a “protected area” where federal immigration authorities should avoid or must obtain prior approval before conducting immigration activities. This guidance is dependent upon the outcome of legal challenges of the recent executive order.
According to the DPI:
- Schools may not turn over personally identifiable information to police, federal agents, or immigration officials without written consent from the parent or caregiver unless a warrant or subpoena is presented that specifies the individual by name and the information being requested (Wis. §118.125).
- An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warrant is not a warrant within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because an ICE warrant is not supported by a showing of probable cause of a criminal offense and is not issued by a court judge or magistrate. Therefore, a school is not required to comply with an ICE warrant (4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution).
Additional legal guidance that SDMA school officials have reviewed from the law firm Renning, Lewis, & Lacy includes:
- An ICE warrant may be executed on school grounds only with the consent of a school official. School officials are not obligated to give consent. Not doing so is not a matter of shielding the individual, but rather, as is always the case, preventing the school from becoming a law enforcement zone and thus disrupting the educational environment. ICE agents, like other law enforcement agents, have the capability of enforcing warrants elsewhere.
- If the agent presents a warrant, signed by a Judge or U.S. Magistrate and the warrant specifies access to the school to apprehend named individuals, then school officials must comply with the agents’ requests. School officials may still request that the agent allow school personnel to bring the individual to the office, rather than the agents moving through the school. School officials cannot prevent execution of a judicial warrant that specifies the school as the location of implementation.
Building principals, district administrators, and SDMA staff will continue to monitor how the new executive orders impact schools, but our commitment of doing our best to support SDMA students and families will not change. Should school families or community stakeholders have any questions or concerns related to our schools, I invite you to contact administration at your child’s school, or visit me at the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue. More information about the SDMA can be found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com).
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