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CUSD outlines updated procedures for immigration enforcement on campuses; community asks for practical examples
Summary
Superintendent Rigby reviewed updated district procedures intended to limit on-campus presence by federal agents absent a valid warrant and to protect student and staff information; public comment asked for concrete examples and more on-the-ground assurances.
Superintendent Rigby told the board on Aug. 12 that the district updated its response to immigration enforcement actions to reinforce that all visitors must check in at school offices and that federal agents should be directed to the district office and will not be allowed on school campuses without a valid warrant or court order signed by a judge.
Rigby noted the district’s obligations under the U.S. Constitution and cited Plyler v. Doe as legal precedent guaranteeing access to education for children regardless of immigration status. She told the board that the district updated Board Resolution No. 17-800 (passed in 2017) and board policy/regulation 5145.13 (response to immigration enforcement) and that site counselors and school-based mental health partners will be available to students and families. The district also said it partners with Carpinteria Children’s Project for immigrant-family supports and will use ParentSquare for timely family communications if an incident occurs on or near campus.
During public comment union leaders and other speakers pressed the district to provide concrete operational examples of how the nine policy points in the newly proposed AI policy and the immigration-response procedures would be applied at the site level, including drills, staff responsibilities and how employees should distinguish law enforcement from other armed individuals during real-time incidents. Commenters asked whether a senior administrator would be present on campus at all hours and how after-school periods and community events would be handled.
Rigby said staff-level trainings will occur at the start of the school year and that all staff will receive training on the updated safety protocols. The district provided the Carpinteria Children’s Project contact (carpchildren.org; (805) 566-1600) as a community resource referenced in the superintendent’s report.
The board recorded these updates as part of the superintendent’s summer work to prepare campuses for the school year; the changes are procedural and focus on visitor check-in, limiting on-campus access for federal agents absent a warrant, protecting student and staff personal information and increasing staff training and mental-health supports.
