Parents, teachers press Elizabeth school board for ICE protocol and independent probe of principal

Dozens of parents, students and former teachers used the board’s public-comment period to demand clearer district guidance and stronger protections after reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity near school neighborhoods and allegations about a school principal’s conduct.

"Children cannot be effective learners when they're when fear dictates their lives," Danielle Bruno Arlequin said, describing a third-grade student who lost a parent to deportation and arguing the board must protect undocumented students. She cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s Tinker v. Des Moines decision in support of students’ right to peaceful protest.

Christina Marrero, president of Elizabeth Parents and Students Care, told the board there was "no clear shared protocol, no districtwide communication, and no reassurance to parents" about what schools should do if ICE appears near campuses. "Your silence is deafening," she said.

Speakers described students who say they are afraid to walk to school and parents who report seeing enforcement activity near homes. Kaysan Little, who praised student organizers of recent protests, said discipline and intimidation had followed peaceful demonstrations and urged the district to treat student civic engagement as protected expression rather than misconduct.

Several public commenters named Michael Cummings as the principal involved in allegations of biased conduct. A former student who identified concerns about Cummings urged the board to act, saying the district "is signaling that he's willing to defend an individual whose actions and verdicts are harmful to the very students he is tasked to protect." Other speakers called for an independent investigation, temporary protective measures for students and published guidance on how staff should respond if ICE agents appear.

Commissioner Stanley Neuron and other board members acknowledged remarks and closed the public-comment segment by saying the board had heard the community; President Maria Carvalho told speakers the board would "discuss this" and that some items would be addressed in private session.

The speakers asked for several specific items: a published districtwide protocol aligned with state guidance, mandatory administrator training on warrants and students’ rights, an independent inquiry into the principal’s conduct (including interviews with students and parents), and interim safeguards for at-risk students while any review is pending.

The board did not take formal action on these public requests during the meeting; members said the issues would be reviewed in private session and returned to the public agenda as appropriate. The transcript shows repeated calls from the audience for a prompt, transparent response and for the district to clarify what supports exist for families affected by immigration enforcement.