Mercer Island board advances draft policy limiting immigration enforcement in schools; staff to revise language on data collection

Mercer Island School District directors discussed a draft board policy intended to bar immigration-enforcement activities in district schools and to limit the district's collection and disclosure of students' immigration-related information, with trustees asking staff to return revised language before the next meeting.

The policy as drafted would elevate the language to a board policy (rather than an administrative rule) and pair it with procedures describing operational details, Director Martinez said during the discussion. Board members debated whether the policy should name specific visa categories or instead be broadly inclusive.

The policy matters because it would formalize how district schools handle requests for immigration-related information and how staff respond to legal processes. “Limiting to just naming those three will leave so many people behind,” Director Martinez said, urging either an appendix or a link to official federal definitions rather than…