Witnesses tell House Judiciary Committee Vermont schools already require judicial warrants for law-enforcement entry; urge careful drafting of model policy

Pietro Lynn, an attorney with the firm Lynn Lynn Blackman and Tuohy who represents almost all Vermont school districts, told the House Judiciary Committee on April 30 that Vermont schools require a judicial warrant before allowing law-enforcement officers to enter school buildings.

"When law enforcement seeks to enter a school building, we require a warrant, a judicial warrant in order to let them in," Lynn said, adding that schools are not a "clearing house for the police" and do not collect or provide student immigration status under FERPA.

The testimony, given during a committee hearing on legislation that would direct the Agency of Education to develop a model policy about law-enforcement access to schools (drafts referenced as H.511/H.5.11), centered on four issues: current school practice; limits on information schools collect and disclose; potential legal risk to local school officials if the statute is misread or misapplied; and whether a model policy should cover all law enforcement rather than only immigration enforcement.

Why it matters: Witnesses said the practical issue is protecting students and school staff while avoiding actions that could expose school employees to federal prosecution. Lynn warned that adding a statutory immunity provision that only shields state-law liability may mislead school administrators into thinking they are protected from federal charges.

Lynn told the committee he and his clients "do not allow law enforcement to enter schools, as an opportunity for them to engage in investigation" and said principals typically will call legal counsel or a superintendent for…