Iowa City school leaders on Tuesday reviewed protocols for how building staff should respond if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents appear at a school, emphasizing verification of credentials, legal review and protecting students while avoiding physical confrontations.

District administrators told the board the guidance is intended to ensure principals check an officer's identification and request a warrant or subpoena, call central office and legal counsel for direction, and ask officers to wait while officials confirm authority. Staff were urged not to physically impede law enforcement but also not to simply forfeit procedural protections for students and families.

The district presented the steps as a practical, safety-focused checklist. "We do have some protocols in place should ICE appear to our buildings," a staff member who led the presentation said, describing training given to principals and administrators this summer. He added that principals have been instructed to "check their ID and their credentials like we would any to our building" and to request a warrant or subpoena before granting access.

Administrators said central office should be contacted immediately so legal counsel can advise and district leaders can respond on-site if necessary. The presenter emphasized the goal is cooperation with law enforcement when legal process is satisfied while using available time to protect students, staff and families: "We do want them to follow the law... we don't want to put our principals in the way of getting in a confrontation."

Board members were told the district has not had ICE officers on any school campuses to its knowledge. Officials said the more likely scenario they have planned for is enforcement actions in the community — at students' homes or workplaces — that indirectly affect students. For those cases the district recommended keeping student contact information up to date in the Infinite Campus student information system so families can be reached quickly.

During the discussion directors asked what would happen if an agent insisted on entry without meeting the district's protocol. Presenters said the district would not instruct staff to physically resist; instead central office and legal counsel would be called and district leadership would respond on-site, recognizing that the district may have limited ability to prevent law enforcement actions taken without judicial process.

No formal action was taken; the board received the report and staff said they would continue to share guidance with building principals and legal counsel as state and local circumstances evolve.