EVERETT — State Superintendent Chris Reykdal released guidance outlining existing state and federal protections for immigrant students in public schools on Thursday, calling on schools to continue providing services to students regardless of immigration status.
Many local school districts in Snohomish County already have policies in place which follow Reykdal’s guidance.
The guidance issued by Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, which oversees Washington schools, calls on schools to maintain policies ensuring undocumented students have access to all aspects of regular schooling. Districts should also only collect data or records that are necessary for educational services, the guidance said. Students or parents are also not required to answer questions or provide documentation disclosing their citizenship status, the guidance reads.
School districts like Edmonds, Mukilteo and Everett already prohibit providing any information about immigration or citizenship status to immigration officers without a court order or judicial warrant.
Those policies were approved in 2020, following a model the state put forth after legislators passed the Keep Washington Working Act in 2019, which restricted the extent to which local law enforcement agencies could enforce federal immigration laws.
“At Everett Public Schools, we are a place where every child is valued, every family is supported and every student has the right to an excellent education,” the superintendent of Everett Public Schools, Ian Saltzman, said Thursday in a message sent to staff and families.
All children residing in the United States have the right to attend public primary and secondary schools, regardless of immigration status. On a federal level, that protection was confirmed through a 1982 Supreme Court ruling, Plyler v. Doe. Washington’s constitution also says the state must provide education to “all children residing within its borders.”
About 25,000 undocumented immigrants live in Snohomish County, according to an estimate from the Migration Policy Institute.
Reykdal issued the guidance Thursday in response to a flurry of executive orders and presidential memorandums put into place within the first few days of President Donald Trump’s administration. Those orders sent 1,500 troops to the southern border, left 30,000 immigrants with canceled asylum appointments and saw 10,400 refugees who had previously been approved for travel to the United States denied entry, The New York Times reported.
An order the president issued on Jan. 21 rolled back a decade-long policy prohibiting federal immigration agencies from carrying out arrests at “sensitive locations,” like schools, churches and hospitals. The new administration’s actions raised concerns from schools, families and legislators, state superintendent Reykdal said in a press release Thursday.
“As we monitor the actions of the new federal administration, I want to be clear: Washington state is and will remain a state that is unequivocally committed to supporting all of our students and their families,” he wrote.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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