WHD SD147 unveils protocols regarding local immigration enforcement
The district will not allow agencies inside school facilities without a court order, co-interim superintendent Creg Williams said last month.
West Harvey-Dixmoor School District 147 detailed its protocols and procedures surrounding concerns of immigration enforcement at schools.
The comments came weeks after the Department of Homeland Security rescinded a policy that restricted immigration enforcement at schools, as well as churches, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun making arrests across the region.
The district had already mailed two letters to parents, in both English and Spanish, interim co-superintendent Creg Williams said at the board’s meeting on Feb. 3, he elaborated on the district’s immigration policies and procedures.
“Immigration agents cannot access students without a valid warrant,” Williams said. “We do not collect or share information regarding students’ immigration status.” Teachers will not be allowed to communicate with immigration officials.
Interim co-superintendents Williams and Jerry Jordan will serve as the primary contacts for any “interactions with any agencies,” Williams said.
Incidents regarding any immigration issues are to be reported to the superintendents, immediately, he said, and communications will be sent to parents that same day.
Emergency contacts are to be updated, and all school doors will remain locked, Williams said. Any law enforcement activity requires schools to go on a soft-lockdown, to limit movement within the school, he added.
Official business
Rosa L. Parks Middle School will receive a new heating system, repaired by Quality Control Systems. That follows complaints of cold classrooms at Parks. The board also approved fees for Planera Architects A&E for an HVAC project at Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School.
BWP & Associates will conduct a search for a permanent superintendent for the district.
Kenya Savage resigned as Executive Administrative Assistant to the superintendents and board. She was in the role for a year, and now works for School City of Hammond in Indiana, according to her LinkedIn.
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