The Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors is expected to vote on adopting a new-to-you policy on Wednesday afternoon, that lays out exactly how school officials will respond to attempts of immigration enforcement in local schools.
But the requirements outlined in the policy are not entirely new.
SPS spokesperson Ryan Lancaster told RANGE in an email that the policy, called Limiting Immigration Enforcement in Schools, would unify pieces of existing district policy and procedure into a “cohesive governance item.”
“So, little if anything is changing in regard to actual practice,” Lancaster wrote. “We’re just bringing it all under one umbrella.”
SPS has already set the tone of limiting immigration enforcement in schools through its broad District and Campus Safety procedure and policy titled District Relationships with Law Enforcement and Other Government Agencies.
The latter states that immigration enforcement falls outside the scope of the district’s responsibility. It also prohibits staff from giving immigration agents access to school grounds unless the superintendent or district’s general counsel determines the agent’s request complies with applicable laws.
“The district supports the federal immigration policy that views schools as sensitive locations and therefore, we do not collaborate with immigration enforcement agencies or share information that could put a student’s security at risk,” the policy reads.
This Biden-era policy offered protections against immigration enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and churches. But the Trump administration reversed it on January 20, 2025 as one of its first orders of business. This effectively left states, municipalities and other entities responsible for adopting their own policies if they didn’t already have them.
The policy the board will consider this week prohibits the district and schools from helping or participating in immigration enforcement activities, including surveillance. It lays out the steps school officials must take when immigration enforcement officials show up, and what resources can be shared with families, like “Know Your Rights” resources and forms to help them prepare for the event of a family separation.
Under the new policy, federal agents and anyone else trying to enforce immigration laws would be restricted from openly accessing school grounds, nonpublic areas and databases.
Staff would be required to immediately direct the person to the principal or whoever they designate to:
- verify the person’s credentials, including their name, agency and badge number
- record the date and time of the visit
- reason for the visit
- names of the people the officials plan to contact
School staff is also required to request a valid court order or judicial warrant from anyone looking to gain access to school grounds, speak to a student or make an arrest, per the policy. School officials will not give personal information to any officer unable to produce a valid court order or judicial warrant.
The district’s superintendent (or their designee and/or legal counsel) will:
- review the request and the information staff collected
- review the court order or judicial warrant to make sure it’s valid and signed by a judge
- review the written and signed authorization from an officer’s “appropriate level director” for the officer to visit a school and that states their specific purpose (without that, the district will need to contact the superior to confirm the officer has permission)
- make a “reasonable effort” to notify a student’s parent or guardian about any requests related to immigration enforcement
- request the presence of a district representative in any interview
After reviewing all of the required information, the policy says the superintendent (or their designee and/or legal counsel) will decide if they will allow the immigration enforcement officer to actually contact or question the adult or student they’re seeking — and will check that the request complies with federal and state laws before any information is given out.
Even if an officer’s request is granted, the policy also states that school officials cannot give access to any information or records that fall outside what is specified in the court order, judicial warrant or legal requirements.
