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Prince George's County board accepts amendment allowing principals to enact shelter-in-place when immigration agents are nearby
Summary
After public pleas from immigrant-advocacy groups and students, the board accepted an amendment adding a principal discretion to enact a shelter-in-place protocol if an immigration enforcement agent is within 1,000 feet of school grounds; the policy will move to final consideration.
The Prince George's County Board of Education on March 26 accepted an amendment to a proposed immigration enforcement policy that would allow a school principal to enact a shelter-in-place protocol if an immigration enforcement agent is within 1,000 feet of school or facility grounds.
The amendment, proposed by Board member Amy Olivo and discussed during the Policy & Governance Committee report, added the specific language that “The school may enact a shelter-in-place protocol based on the professional judgment of the school principal if an immigration enforcement agent is within 1,000 ft of the school or facility grounds.” The board accepted the amendment during the meeting; one member abstained from that vote because of a professional affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security.
Advocates and students pressed the board to add a shelter-in-place requirement. Shannon Wilk, director of education at We Are CASA, told the board the draft policy lacked a shelter-in-place provision and asked that schools “enact a shelter in place when ICE is known to be within a school zone,” citing incidents elsewhere where enforcement activity caused fear and disruptions to attendance. Student Ryan Sanchez said the threat of immigration enforcement has left classmates afraid and asked the board to “add an amendment to require a shelter in place when ICE is within a school zone.”
Dr. Moss, the Policy & Governance Committee chair, described the policy as a safeguard to help students from immigrant communities feel safe on campus and credited Olivo with substantial stakeholder engagement on the topic. The board accepted the committee’s recommendation to amend the policy; the amended policy will proceed to final consideration by the full board under its standard process.
Board member Brown recorded an abstention on the amendment vote, citing professional ties to the Department of Homeland Security. The meeting record shows the committee advanced the amended policy to the full board for final consideration rather than indicating final adoption that night.
If the board adopts the policy at final consideration it will be inserted into district policy as the district’s formal framework for responding to immigration enforcement near PGCPS campuses. The Policy & Governance Committee and advocates said the change is intended to standardize protections and principal discretion in time-sensitive situations.
