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FCPS senior staff says law-enforcement access to students limited; public guidance to be posted
Summary
At a racial equity committee meeting, senior FCPS staff member Dana said the district does not allow law enforcement unfettered access to students and will publish public-facing guidance explaining when law enforcement may enter schools and how FCPS responds to student protests and walkouts.
Senior Frederick County Public Schools senior staff member Dana told the Racial Equity Committee that FCPS does not give law enforcement unfettered access to students in school and will post a public-facing guidance document on the student services web page.
"We don't give law enforcement access to our students in school unless it's an active child abuse investigation" and only in cases of imminent risk of harm or a court-ordered warrant, Dana said, adding that "When students are with us, they're under our authority." The presentation followed the committee's discussion of recent student protests related to immigration enforcement.
Committee members asked whether schools had permitted staff to participate in student protests and whether there had been instances of ICE entering schools. Dana denied that staff had participated in protests, saying central-office staff who went to student gatherings did so to ensure student safety, and said she was not aware of any instances in which ICE had come into school buildings to enforce immigration rules.
On student walkouts, Dana told the committee students have the right to protest so long as it does not disrupt school operations; schools were instructed to provide safe, on-campus opportunities and to hold students who left campus without permission accountable under the student code of conduct. She said these expectations follow FCPS policy and the student code and will be reiterated in the public guidance.
Dana also noted the district will create a short, public-facing one-sheet describing the guidance for families and community members. That document will be posted on the FCPS student services web page to reinforce district policy and to help families understand how schools will respond in the future.
The committee did not vote on any policy at the meeting; Dana framed the clarifications as reminders of current practice and promised the posted guidance as the next public step.
