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McKinney‑Vento liaison says families remain fearful after ICE encounters; urges supports

Portland Public Schools Board of Public Education · January 30, 2026
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Summary

At the Jan. 29 Portland Public Schools emergency meeting, McKinney‑Vento liaison Priscilla Bettencourt said families reported recent ICE presence in homes and urged the district to offer options now for fearful families; board members responded that supports should be provided while monitoring attendance.

Priscilla Bettencourt, the district's McKinney‑Vento liaison, told the Portland Public Schools Board of Public Education on Jan. 29 that many families remain too afraid to send children to school despite official announcements and that some had reported recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity at homes.

"We have actually heard from families that ICE was in their house yesterday," Bettencourt said during public comment, urging the district to provide options for families undergoing that trauma.

Board members acknowledged the report and discussed how supports might be provided. Several members said temporary supports such as targeted tutoring, flexible interventions and careful outreach should be prioritized to help families who are reluctant to return. Chair Lentz and other board members also emphasized the district's intent to continue planning a temporary remote option so it can be quickly activated if conditions worsen.

Superintendent Scanlon and staff did not dispute Bettencourt's account in the meeting. Instead, they said that staff would continue outreach and that daily attendance reporting beginning Feb. 2 would give the board better operational information. Board members and staff repeatedly raised privacy and safety concerns in the meeting when discussing data disaggregation and publishing demographic absence rates, noting that smaller sample sizes can risk identifying individual families or households.

Bettencourt signed her comment with her role and her location, saying she works across districts and that she had seen reports of enforcement activity in nearby communities as well. Her public comment was the principal community witness to the board's discussion of supports during the meeting; the board directed staff to pursue targeted interventions and to continue planning for remote options while monitoring attendance.