Winchester committee asks policy subcommittee to draft safe-school-zones policy after public comments

The Winchester School Committee on Thursday directed its policy subcommittee to draft a high-level "safe school zones" policy after several parents, teachers and community advocates urged the district to formalize procedures to protect students in the event of federal immigration-enforcement actions.

Rebecca Sliz, executive director of the Network for Social Justice and a parent, told the committee the district should prepare now even if the local risk appears low. "We wanted some communication and some assurance that the schools had a plan if immigration agents were to show up," she said, and offered the network's resources and stakeholder support for policy development.

Teacher Cindy Ravel, a fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary, said educators had reviewed an early version of a resolution and that the Winchester Education Association rep council "endorsed it with enthusiasm," and urged the committee to ensure a clear emergency protocol is in place districtwide.

Parent Liz Black Sutchi cited state-level guidance and national reporting to make her case: she referenced May 2026 guidance issued by Governor Maura Healey and national reporting about children detained by ICE to argue the district should adopt protective policies and procedures. "Teachers and staff are the ones who would be there with children should this ever happen," she said, and asked that staff and teachers be included in developing the plan.

Committee member Belair, who submitted a memo with a starting framework in the meeting packet, said the memo is intended to begin a conversation and recommended the policy subcommittee use state guidance as a baseline while considering Winchester-specific additions. "We can take a step back and think about what our policies and procedures should look like," he said, urging collaboration with community organizations and the district's state delegation as the Protect Act and state guidance evolve.

Several committee members agreed with a two-part approach: adopt the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education recommendations as a baseline and "layer in" Winchester-specific provisions such as protections for after-school programs, parent-association events and guidance about third-party contractors. Hopcroft said adopting state guidance would keep local policy consistent with future updates while allowing local enhancements; Vice Chair Minyarji asked that protocols explicitly include after-school partners and parent-run events.

The chair asked the policy subcommittee to take up drafting a high-level policy this summer and return a recommendation to the full committee for consideration. Committee members emphasized that operational procedures—exact steps for staff and building teams—would remain the superintendent's responsibility to implement once high-level policy is adopted.

Next steps: the policy subcommittee will meet over the summer to draft recommended language that aligns with state guidance and local concerns and present that draft to the full committee for a vote before the start of the school year.