Peoria Public Schools superintendent Sharon Kherat said the district will continue to adhere to its "Safe Haven" policy calling for students to receive education regardless of their immigration status.
Her letter to the district community dated Jan. 23 comes as President Donald Trump's promised crackdown on illegal immigration was launched via a flurry of executive orders and agency directives.
Among those measures was a Department of Homeland Security pronouncement that immigration enforcement officials are no longer barred from making arrests in schools, health care facilities, and places of worship. A DHS official told NPR that the Trump administration trusts law enforcement officials to "use common sense."
The Peoria Public Schools board of education adopted a Safe Haven resolution on Sept. 25, 2017.
“This resolution was adopted based on a strong belief and knowledge that some District students may be at risk of having their education disrupted because of their immigration status, and that belief still exists today," Kherat wrote. "The Board also believes that federal immigration law enforcement activities in and around our school district have the potential to disrupt the educational environment to which all students, regardless of immigration status, are entitled."
Peoria Public Schools administrators noticed a number of student absences and received “several” concerned calls from parents Thursday, prompting the letter.
“They were fearful that their children may not return from school and they were keeping them away,” said Kherat in a phone interview with WCBU on Friday.
A Peoria Public Schools spokesperson said 253 students in the English Language Learners program were absent on Wednesday, 198 on Thursday, and 140 on Friday. A total of 1,453 students are enrolled in the program.
The Safe Haven policy calls for the district to deny access to immigration officials or other law enforcement seeking to enforce immigration laws except "under certain unique and specified circumstances required by law."
Kherat says “denying access” means directing any immigration enforcement officials who may visit a district school to Director of Safety Demario Boone. She says there won’t be “obstruction,” as the district wants to avoid anyone being arrested.
“[Boone] will contact me as well and we will go from there,” Kherat said. “[Boone] will work with them and try to help them out as much as we can. I don’t want our principals having to go through that fight. They already have enough on their hands.”
Kherat says the school will help “as much as we can” because public schools are subject to confidentiality laws like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.
The district also discussed purchasing Spanish language online courses to provide alternatives for concerned families.
“In case, for example, whatever the situation might be, we’re saying come, but if, in fact, they think otherwise, we still have options to help them keep the learning going so it doesn’t stop,” said Kherat.
The Illinois State Board of Education also issued a reminder this week on how schools should engage with immigration enforcement efforts.
State Superintendent Tony Sanders said leaders of public schools have a legal and moral obligation to protect students' rights within their buildings. He recommends districts adopt policies outlining their level of cooperation or non-cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Friday, ICE was reportedly denied entry to a Chicago elementary school. Officials later confirmed the agency was the Secret Service. The city of Chicago is believed to be one of the Trump administration's initial primary targets for actions targeting undocumented immigrants.
