Families and community advocates spoke during public comment of the DeKalb County Board of Education meeting on July 13 in support of the Safe Space to Learn policy to protect immigrant students.
The Safe Space to Learn policy draft would require law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, to have a judicial warrant or court order and be legally verified by school administrators in order to question a student, remove a student from campus, or obtain student information. Families and students who spoke on Monday expressed concerns about students feeling safe and comfortable enough to thrive at school.
Jessica Stern, the owner and managing partner of the CrImmigration law firm STERN Law, spoke on behalf of a Livsey Elementary parent.
“Livsey is about 40% Latino. It’s a wonderful, close, and inclusive community,” she said. “But this year, she [the parent] saw a noticeable change in their school; you could feel and see it. Families are terrified. That kind of fear doesn’t stay outside the building – it follows children into the classroom, and it keeps them from learning and, in many cases, from coming to school or participating in the community at all. We cannot underestimate the psychological impact and trauma that this climate of fear has created.”
A student at Sequoia Middle School spoke about her experience going to school after her father was detained by ICE.
“When I started my mock exams, it was really hard to focus because since we received that call, my family never looked happy,” she said. “We were missing someone … Every morning, I got ready for school, went to my classes, but I could never focus knowing my dad was in [detention].”
The policy was set to receive a first read during Monday’s meeting but was removed from the agenda. Speakers urged the board to prioritize the adoption of the policy by conducting the first read at the next meeting on August 10, one week after the first day of school in DeKalb.
“We are disappointed that something this urgent and serious has been delayed from its first hearing at today’s board meeting,” Alberto Feregrino, Georgia Organizing Director at CASA, said. “We are here to urge the board not to delay this policy from being adopted any further. As this new school year is just 15 business days away, we cannot take any risks when tens of thousands of students are expected to return, and their families expect the highest of commitments to their children’s safety.”
A similar policy was adopted by Gwinnett County Public Schools in March. Atlanta Public Schools also approved a similar policy with an amendment in progress to require judicial warrant and legal review.
