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Speakers urge district to strengthen protections after nearby enforcement and oppose AB715
Summary
Students, educators and community advocates urged the board to adopt AB699-aligned policies, rapid notifications in multiple languages, annual staff training, and DREAM liaisons after reports of immigration enforcement activities near schools and the pending AB715 legislation.
Several public commenters at the Sept. 16 meeting urged the San Bernardino City Unified School District to strengthen protections and implementation of state-specified safeguards for immigrant students and families.
Gabrielle (Gabe) Velasco, a warehouse worker and volunteer with Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective, described community fears after recent enforcement activity near workplaces and raised demands the board consider immediately: adopt an AB699-aligned policy that requires warrants and agency identification before school access, prohibit racial profiling and data-sharing with immigration enforcement, establish rapid multilingual notification systems for families, require documentation of any contact with ICE or CBP, provide annual staff training on immigrant-student rights and trauma-informed supports, and designate a DREAM resource liaison at each secondary school.
"These steps will keep kids in class, protect families, and reflect the values of San Bernardino," Velasco said, adding that UC Riverside research finds enforcement operations harm students' mental health and attendance.
Angela Albayani, a Cal State San Bernardino credential candidate, asked specifically for teacher protocols and training so educators know how to respond when students are affected by enforcement and how to connect them to counselors and resources.
A separate commenter, who identified themself as Yaya, urged the board to oppose Assembly Bill 715 as currently drafted, saying it could chill classroom discussions about Palestine and Arab-American history and threaten academic freedom; the speaker requested the board send an explicit public opposition to the governor if the bill reaches signature stage.
Board response: Trustees listened but did not adopt a new policy at the meeting. Commenters asked the district to strengthen implementation of AB699-aligned protections and to provide clearer operational steps staff should follow; trustees asked staff to review proposals and to consider stronger implementation steps and community training requests in future updates.
What happens next: Speakers requested actionable policy changes (rapid notification protocols, documentation of enforcement contact, staff training, DREAM liaisons) and asked the board to return with options for formal adoption and implementation timelines.
