Dear Hartford Public School Families,
Our top priorities at Hartford Public Schools are the safety, learning and well-being of our students. In response to recent federal executive orders, we want to share guidance on student rights and protections, as well as inform you of the steps our schools are taking to ensure our community is safe in the event of any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encounters.
We understand that many families are concerned about federal policy changes on immigration enforcement surrounding our schools. Please know that Hartford Public Schools is committed to protecting our students’ rights to education, regardless of immigration status, and that our school district is under no obligation to collect immigration status information from students or their family members.
Hartford Public Schools has taken the necessary steps to ensure proper legal procedures are followed by ICE if agents show up on any school campus. School leaders have been provided legal guidance on state laws and city mandates protecting immigrant children and families. The clear directive to all HPS staff is to not allow access to school grounds to any ICE agents, unless such agents can present a valid warrant signed by a judge. Should any agents show up at one of our facilities, school leaders must immediately contact the Superintendent's Office for further assistance and support.
During these challenging times, Hartford Public Schools strives to create a learning environment where every student can feel safe, welcomed and fully engaged in our schools, without disruption to their educational experience. We remain steadfast in our mission to provide all students with the learning and support they need to succeed in school and in life.
Hartford Public Schools will continue to keep our school families informed about new developments. If you have further questions, please reach out to your school principal or the Hartford Public Schools Welcome Center at (860) 695-8400. In addition, please review the FAQ below for more information and resources on protecting students’ rights and district procedures pertaining to immigration enforcement.
Sincerely,
Leslie Torres-Rodríguez, Ed.D
Superintendent and CEO
Hartford Public Schools
I. FAQ: YOUR STUDENT’S RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS
What are the rights of children who attend Hartford Public Schools?
· Immigration status is not relevant to a child’s right to attend school. Eligibility of school-age children for public school services is determined by residential address.
· The United States Supreme Court has ruled that children who are undocumented foreign nationals have a constitutional right to attend school. Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).
· Federal law prohibits discrimination against students on the basis of their race, color or national origin. Potentially discriminatory actions include, but are not limited to, asking students about their immigration status or requiring a student to provide a birth certificate as a condition for enrollment.
What are the protections for children who attend Hartford Public Schools?
· Regardless of immigration status, all students attending the Hartford Public Schools are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Accordingly, school officials may not share personally-identifiable student information with third parties, including the police or ICE agents, except as is expressly authorized under FERPA.
What is the Sensitive Locations Policy?
· Subject to exceptions, ICE agents historically follow a “sensitive locations policy” that creates a presumption against conducting enforcement actions in schools (which actions are defined as “(1) arrests; (2) interviews; (3) searches; and 4) for purposes of immigration enforcement only, surveillance”).
II. FAQ: ACTION STEPS:
What are the action steps school staff will take if approached by an ICE Agent?
A. If an ICE agent approaches school staff asking for student information or access to a student, the ICE agent will be referred to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall immediately contact district legal counsel to be available to provide assistance as needed.
B. If an ICE agent comes to your child’s school, the Superintendent has designated the HPS Staff Attorney, and the Directors of Security to respond to the school/building immediately to review the validity of the warrant.
C. The Superintendent’s designee shall meet with the ICE agent and ask him/her to state the reason and authority for the visit.
D. The Superintendent’s designee shall ask the ICE agent to describe the specifics of any request he/she is making, for example, entry to a school facility for access to a student or a request for student records.
E. If the ICE agent seeks entry to a school facility for an enforcement action, the Superintendent’s designee shall ask the ICE agent to produce a warrant, that is, a judicial order, authorizing such action. If the ICE agent does not have a warrant, the Superintendent’s designee shall decline to permit the ICE agent entry into the school.
F. If the ICE agent produces a warrant to enter a school facility, the Superintendent’s designee, with the assistance of district legal counsel, shall carefully review the warrant to determine exactly what it authorizes ICE to do, who issued it, and will then authorize compliance as appropriate.
G. If the ICE agent produces a warrant or lawfully issued subpoena for information contained in student records, the Superintendent, with the assistance of legal counsel, shall carefully review the warrant or subpoena to determine exactly what records it authorizes ICE to obtain. As required by FERPA, the Superintendent shall then “make a reasonable effort to notify the parent or eligible student of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance, so that the parent or eligible student may seek protective action,” unless the court or other agency issuing the warrant for a law enforcement purpose has directed that the order shall not be disclosed.
H. After giving the parent or eligible student a reasonable time to respond (where applicable) and in consultation with district legal counsel, the Superintendent shall provide the ICE agent with student records subject to the court order or subpoena.
III. HELPFUL RESOURCES:
Know Your Rights Materials:
Informed Immigrant: https://www.informedimmigrant.com/resources/detention-deportation/know-your- rights/
IRIS, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services: https://irisct.org/know-your-rights/
Immigration Legal Resource Center: https://www.ilrc.org/resources/step-step-family-preparedness- plan#item-4325
National Immigration Law Center: https://www.nilc.org/resources/know-your-rights-what-to-do-if- arrested-detained-immigration/
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild: https://nipnlg.org/sites/default/files/2024- 12/2024_Trump-what-to-expect.pdf
Legal Services Resources:
United Coalition for Immigrant Services: https://www.united-coalition.org/
Immigration Advocates Network Legal Services Directory: https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/legaldirectory/
DOJ list of accredited immigration attorneys by State/City: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/942306/dl#CONNECTICUT
IRIS, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services: https://irisct.org/our-services/
CIRI, Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants: https://cirict.org/immigration-legal-services/
Connecticut Legal Services Immigration: www.ctlegal.org/contact
Greater Hartford Legal Aid: 860-541-5000
American Immigration Lawyers Association: 203-946-4811 www.aila.org
Community Partners with Resources for Immigrants:
Building One Community: https://b1c.org/
Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services: https://irisct.org/
The Neighbor Fund: https://www.theneighborfund.org/
CT Students for a Dream: https://www.ct4adream.org/
Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants: https://cirict.org/
Connecticut Immigrant & Refugee Coalition: https://www.coalitionct.org/
Catholic Charities: https://www.ccaoh.org