Amid anxiety over potential immigration raids, the Regional School Unit 71 Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a set of procedures that it will follow if agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or any other federal agency arrive at district schools.
According to the protocol, if ICE or other federal agents come to a school, administrators and staff are instructed not to allow them inside, notify the superintendent and refrain from sharing any information.
The superintendent will come to campus immediately to speak with the agents in consultation with the district’s lawyers. They will also notify Belfast police or the Waldo County Sheriff’s office.
RSU 71 schools will not let government agents into schools without a signed judicial warrant, said Interim Superintendent Bob England. And they will not share any information related to a student or family’s immigration status, he said.
The procedures are spelled out in two documents that will be posted to the district’s website on Thursday morning — a letter to parents and a five-page protocol for school administrators as well as bus drivers and staff at off-site events such as field trips and athletics games.
A third document, which will not be made public, provides guidance to teachers on how to handle their students’ questions and worries about immigration enforcement activities.
The school district knows of at least a dozen children of immigrants in its schools, England said. “There is some anxiety,” he said.
Some parents have kept their children home from school over concerns about ICE, England said. “Our principals have been reaching out to assure them that they’re safe to come to school,” he said. “But that’s hard because of everything that’s taking place.”
The school district is not able to provide remote learning or alternative options to all students who stay home over immigration enforcement concerns, England said, but some teachers are providing alternative assignments to students.
According to state law, absences by students who miss school because of immigration enforcement concerns are counted as unexcused. But England said the district will pursue “hold harmless” options that will protect those students from negative effects on their academic records.
England met last week with the Belfast police chief and Waldo County sheriff to assess the local immigration enforcement situation. The school’s policies and guidance are based in large part on protocols developed by Lewiston Public Schools, which has a large number of students who are immigrants and asylum seekers.
Five towns make up RSU 71 — Belfast, Belmont, Morrill, Searsmont and Swanville.
