Legislation would protect students on campus

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond sponsored legisla­tion introduced by Senate Ma­jority Leader Lena Gonzalez on Dec. 16. Senate Bill 12 aims at keeping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents off school campuses to protect California schools from a drop-off in attendance or funding in response to federal threats of mass deportations.

The bill would prohibit school districts, county offices of edu­cation, charter schools, and their personnel from granting ICE officers or other federal authorities to access campus­es without a judicial warrant, prohibit police cooperation with any immigration efforts withing a one-mile radius of a school, and prohibit the sharing of any information on students, families, their households, or school employees with ICE of­ficers.

“This bill seeks to push back against threats of deportation that create fear in immigrant families. These practices sup­press school attendance and rob schools of needed revenue,” said Thurmond in a press release. “I am honored to partner with bill author Senator Lena Gonzalez, other legislators, and immi­grant rights groups to support our families and keep ICE off our school campuses—period.”

Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) said that all California children deserve safe school environ­ments that prioritize student learning regardless of immigra­tion status.

“As Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, I’m proud to be partnering with Su­perintendent Tony Thurmond to author this important legis­lation, which will prevent dis­ruptions to student learning, keep children in school, and prevent families from being torn apart,” she said.

According to the press re­lease, research has shown that immigration enforcement around schools has a chilling effect on school attendance for students from impacted com­munities, regardless of stu­dents’ citizenship or immigra­tion status, and that it is rea­sonable to expect such adverse impacts on immigrant commu­nities throughout California. In California, 93% of children who have one or more undocu­mented parents are U.S. citi­zens. Additionally, all children in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have a right to a free and appropriate public education.