Hazleton Area SD board asks solicitor to review protections for students amid ICE concerns; discusses language-access policy
Summary
After a student asked whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement could enter schools, the Hazleton Area School District board asked its solicitor to review options to keep schools safe; the board also discussed gaps between written language-access policy and available staff resources.
The Hazleton Area School District Board of Directors asked its solicitor to review ways to protect schools from immigration-enforcement actions after a student raised the possibility that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement might enter schools or churches to look for undocumented people.
The discussion began when Student Representative Faith said she had not heard of any student conversations about the issue. "I haven't heard anything though," Faith said. A board member then asked the district solicitor to look into how to designate schools as safe spaces for students and whether the district could limit interruptions during the school day.
Board members raised the topic again while reviewing district policy 52, which directs the district to "engage individual families in their own languages." Board members said the language represents an ideal the district is not currently able to meet because of limited bilingual personnel. "We're talking about...engaging individual families in their own languages all down the line and we just don't have the personnel to do that at this point in time," a board member said.
Chris Swissiter, identified at the meeting as the district solicitor, responded that if the board adopts a policy it should be followed and that any legal risk would depend on the specific wording and implementation of the policy. "Hypothetically, yes. Of course, if you're creating a policy you should be following it," Swissiter said.
A member of district staff said schools hold parent advisory committee meetings with bilingual teachers who provide translation at those meetings. Public commenter Betsy Durso told the board she had seen other districts addressing ICE-related concerns and urged Hazleton Area SD to have a plan in place; the board replied that staff are working on the issue.
No formal vote or ordinance was taken during the discussion. The board’s stated next step was to ask the solicitor to research legal options and report back to the board.
The discussion occurred during the agenda item covering superintendent and district policies; board members said they expect staff and the solicitor to return with more specific recommendations and any required policy language.
