Associate Superintendent Shelly Reggiani presented the district's approach to supporting immigrant students and families at the Nov. 20 work session, telling the board the effort rests on four main components: proactive training for staff, clear values/expectations, safe and supportive schools, and connections to community social services.
"This evening I am joined by my esteemed colleagues…" Reggiani said, and described steps the district has taken since she joined, including updates to training, public resources and a communication protocol for safeguarding student information after state changes to record‑release rules.
Sho Shigeoka, the administrator for support services, demonstrated a new real‑time attendance dashboard the district uses to monitor daily attendance by demographic group. "We have access to real life data in terms of attendance," Shigeoka said, adding that as of the presentation the dashboard showed only small percentage‑point differences by race and that schools use attendance changes as an early signal to reach out.
Reggiani described a centralized protocol for reports of suspected or confirmed immigration‑enforcement activity: staff report incidents to school administrators, administrators contact Public Safety, incidents are logged in the Raptor system, and appropriate supports are deployed. The district also coordinates reporting to community partners such as PIRC/PERC and notifies the superintendent as needed.
Tatiana Ceballos, who presented family resources, said the district has curated online materials in English and Spanish and emphasized practical supports, including guidance on keeping vital documents and plans for offering notary services at school locations. "An easy way to find them is just do a Google search, Google school, Beaverton School District immigrant," Ceballos said.
Board members praised the district's training and protocols but raised concerns about public framing and community trust. Director Kassem said the placement of an attendance slide could be perceived as minimizing impacts on students and asked what avenues the district uses to listen to affected students and families: "that doesn't send the right message," she said, urging more intentional communications.
Doctor Carpenter cautioned against categorical denials of ICE presence when the district lacks proof, recommending the district explain verification steps instead: "Instead of saying ICE was not here... we can say... we tried to confirm that ICE was here and we weren't able to confirm that." Several board members asked for additional time for deeper questions and recommended bringing the topic back for extended discussion and public comment.
District leaders said they will continue training, use the attendance dashboard to prompt targeted outreach, keep resources on the district site and work with board leadership to schedule further opportunities for public engagement and detailed Q&A.