District prepares plan in case ICE comes to Oxford schools
By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
ssoldan@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD TWP. — In his first week in office, president Donald Trump has signed executive orders directing the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) to crack down on immigrants who are in the US illegally. The order also lifted bans on immigration raids in places previously considered sensitive, such as churches, schools and hospitals in an effort to deport undocumented immigrants.
Now, Oxford Community Schools is preparing should the orders affect public schools.
“We had some executive orders that kind of tripped us up a little bit that we’re still trying to figure out,” said Oxford Schools Superintendent Dr. Tonya Milligan during the regular school board meeting on Jan. 28. “Reinstatement of immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, this includes our schools. Where, historically, that has not taken place, now that safety net has been removed, so we’ve been working very hard to better understand how to support our students in a situation like this, and support our community.”
In the past weeks, Milligan has been working with the policy committee to make sure all of the policies and procedures surrounding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are in place and that they are in compliance. FERPA governs the access to educational information and records by public entities, and governs what information can or cannot be disclosed about a student and to whom.
“That’s something we’re pretty good at, so I’m confident along those lines,” she said.
In addition, Milligan has been working with administrators and safety teams to put a plan in place if ICE does come to the school to make sure there is a clear plan in place and ensure that staff are supported. She also has been collaborating with local law enforcement to understand the requirements for the district and the roles of local law enforcement.
“What are their roles, if this were to happen, if an ICE agent did come to a school or did want to serve papers at school, so we had a great conversation around their responsibilities,” she said.
They also made sure the directory information in the schools for students is within the parameters allowed by FERPA, and making sure families know they can opt out of having student information in the school directory.
They also worked to gain awareness of Plyer v. Doe.
“This is the case that essentially sets the stage for schools to educate all students, regardless of their immigration status,” said Milligan. “We do not ask if you’re legal, if you’re a citizen, no. We educate everyone in public education. And that is the case that sets that up.”