Residents and state representative urge Woodburn School Board to adopt enforceable immigration-protection policies

Multiple public commenters at the Woodburn School District board meeting Wednesday urged the board to adopt stronger, enforceable policies to protect students, families and staff from immigration-enforcement disruptions.

Carol Kramer, a special-education instructional assistant at Heritage Elementary and secretary of the Woodburn Classified Employees Union (OSEA Chapter 25), said classified staff across the district are living in constant fear after federal immigration actions in the community. "ICE has already taken individuals from Woodburn, and the constant fear is who's next? It's an existential dread," Kramer told the board during the public-comment period.

Tony Som, a community advocate, thanked the district for starting work on immigrant-safety measures but called on the board to adopt specific, enforceable protections modeled on a proposed "Article 32," which he said would require federal immigration agents to have a judicial warrant before entering school property and would set protocols for notifications and staff protections.

Max Sanchez, a teacher at Woodburn High School, described a "dramatic increase in ICE presence and activity" over the last three weeks and said the resulting anxiety has harmed students' attendance and ability to learn. Sanchez urged the district to work with community stakeholders to create contingency plans for detained parents, train staff in trauma-informed response and rights-based advocacy, and expand the rapid-response work already underway.

State Representative Leslie Munoz, whose House District 22 includes Woodburn, told the board she has seen local educators organize multilingual "know your rights" trainings and offered her office's help. "Our schools must remain safe havens for learning," Munoz said, asking the board to "establish clear policies protecting our entire school community from immigration-enforcement disruptions."

District leaders described the procedures already in place and said the district will continue to refine communications and supports. Director Woolley, director of safety operations and communications, said law-enforcement or federal-agency access is governed by long-standing protocols: agents must check in at a school office and present a vetted subpoena or judicial warrant; the district office and HR coordinate responses so administrators can continue running the school. Woolley emphasized monthly drills, partnerships with local police and fire, and outreach to a community rapid-response network that notifies the district when incidents occur.

Woolley and Superintendent Larios said the district distributes safety and protocol information through district and school newsletters, platforms such as ClassDojo and Remind, translated social-media posts and tabling at community events. They also pointed to data sources the district uses to monitor impacts, including the YouthTruth survey and attendance trends; district staff said empathy interviews and site-level attendance tracking are used to identify and support affected families.

Board members asked for clearer, accessible resources for families, more translated materials and a description of contingency plans for students whose caregivers are detained. Union and community callers asked the board to consider codified, enforceable protections beyond current practice; district staff said some measures (for example, requiring a judicial warrant for entry) already guide responses, while other requests would require policy development, legal review and, in some cases, changes to practice or formal adoption.

The board did not take a vote on new immigration-related policies at Wednesday's meeting; commenters and staff said follow-up work would proceed through the superintendent's office and community partners.