TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Traverse City Area Public Schools employees have been given directives for how to deal with law enforcement officers. Those directives advise them not to deal with police unless they provide a warrant as to not violate federal student privacy laws.
The school district addressed President Donald Trump’s administration’s announcement that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be permitted to enforce immigration policy and/or question individuals in previously protected areas, including places of worship, hospitals, and schools.
Citizenship status is off limits.
The policy was distributed in an email sent by superintendent John Vanwagoner that was produced in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response.
“We have a great relationship with our local, county, and state law enforcement,” VanWagoner said in an email to Michigan News Source.
District employees are not to ask students or families about their citizenship status, including when they are enrolling in the district.
Do you have a warrant?
Employees are to require an officer produce a warrant before providing access to a student or access to a nonpublic areas of the schools, “unless the officer asserts exigent circumstances, including, but not limited to, imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm to a person.”
In an email to Michigan News Source, VanWagoner clarified that if a student committed a crime, and returned to the school district, and was not a risk of harm to others, police would be required to get a warrant to have access to the student.
The district provided the actions so employees would not violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
What’s in the document?
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The document stated:
School officials must balance three separate obligations: (1) to not interfere with a federal criminal investigation; (2) to ensure student privacy and confidentiality in accordance with state and federal law; and (3) to not interfere with an undocumented noncitizen student’s ability to enroll in and attend school free from discrimination based on national origin, citizenship or immigration status, or homelessness. To balance those three obligations, we recommend that school officials take the following actions:
- Do not ask students or families about citizenship status, including in the enrollment process.
- Keep student or family citizenship and immigration status confidential.
- Principals will notify and involve the superintendent or superintendent’s designee as soon as practicable when staff receive any inquiries, demands, or directives related to immigration enforcement. The superintendent or designee will be deployed to the building upon principal’s notification.
- Require an officer to produce a warrant or other lawful order before providing student records, unless the officer has signed parental consent or a FERPA exception otherwise applies.
- Require an officer to produce a warrant or other lawful order before providing access to a student or access to nonpublic areas of the school unless the officer asserts exigent circumstances, including, but not limited to, imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm to a person. NOTE: There are different types of warrants. An ICE officer may not be required to obtain a warrant signed by a judge to arrest or detain someone. An ICE officer does, however, usually require a warrant signed by a court to enter nonpublic areas of the school. Any warrant should be carefully reviewed to make sure it is lawfully issued.
- Consistent with the law summarized above, comply with a law enforcement or ICE officer’s lawfully issued directive.
- Document the interactions and all steps taken to verify that the official is operating under proper legal authority. Include names, dates, times, locations, information requested, directives given, information provided, and copies of any relevant documents, including court orders and warrants.