Beaverton board hears urgent public pleas over ICE activity; discusses resolution, task force and immediate safety steps
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Summary
Public commenters told the Beaverton School District board that ICE activity is terrorizing families and students; the board discussed reaffirming a resolution supporting immigrant students and agreed to pursue near‑term coordination, including legislative outreach and a possible task force to address school‑travel safety.
A wave of public commenters told the Beaverton School District Board on Dec. 9 that immigration enforcement activity is creating fear in the community and that district action is needed now to protect students getting to and from school.
At the start of public comment, Beaverton Education Association president Katie Lukens said, “Our community is being terrorized as ICE is abducting people every day, often illegally,” and urged the board to require in‑person training and clear building‑level protocols. Several other speakers described students’ fear and uneven responses across schools.
Why it matters: Families and staff said district guidance and optional online trainings are not sufficient in the current environment. Parents and community members asked the board to move beyond statements to concrete coordination — including a task force, clearer rapid‑response plans, and better cross‑jurisdictional communication so best practices can be shared across schools.
What happened: Parents and students shared firsthand accounts of ICE vehicles parked near routes to campuses, student walkouts and inconsistent disciplinary responses, and a parent who identified himself as a combat veteran described alleged restraint incidents involving his grandson and said formal complaints brought no satisfactory outcome. Evelyn Shoop, representing families at Cedar Park Middle School, asked the board to “create a task force that is made up of community members, teachers, people who are potentially impacted or have been impacted by ICE, who can coordinate among schools.”
Superintendent Dr. Balderas opened the business portion by noting he has met with local and federal officials about increased enforcement activity and said, “schools are the safest places where kids can be,” while calling for multi‑agency action to reduce fear and trauma in the community.
Board response and next steps: Directors debated tone and scope of a reaffirmed resolution that originally passed in January 2025. Several members urged a more active, action‑oriented statement and immediate operational steps. Director Raji proposed that the board’s legislative/advocacy subcommittee collate existing local resolutions and coordinate outreach to elected partners; others called for a short‑term task force or facilitated community engagement session to design actionable supports (for example, organizing safe arrival routes and adding adult supervision at certain bus stops).
No formal resolution vote occurred at the meeting; board leadership agreed to convene a small leadership discussion, seek staff support to draft options and bring a proposed path forward to the board in a timely manner. Board members also emphasized routing incident reports and requests for help through school administrators and social workers to ensure timely support for affected families.
What’s next: The board asked leadership to develop a timeline for next steps and to coordinate with community partners. Directors said they want both a revised public statement and rapid, district‑led operational guidance addressing student travel safety and sharing of best practices across schools.
Speakers quoted: Katie Lukens (BEA president); Evelyn Shoop (parent); Araceli Brambilla (parent/nurse); Dr. Balderas (superintendent).
Ending: The conversation closed with a commitment from board leadership to meet, gather input and develop concrete recommendations for the board to consider at an upcoming meeting.
