Immigration Resources for Educators and School Leaders

Updated March 12, 2025

President Trump has stated that his administration will make sweeping changes on immigration and that he will launch the largest mass deportation effort in American history. The purpose of the materials linked here is to help school leaders identify the enforcement policies and tactics that have been proposed, anticipate the potential impacts for school communities, and offer recommendations on how schools may be able to address needs stemming from these impacts. 

These materials are subject to change as the administration begins implementing immigration policy. In addition, the United States Congress and the California Legislature may pass bills that affect local educational agencies either in anticipation of or in response to such policy changes. These materials are not intended as legal advice; local educational agencies are encouraged to contact legal counsel for further guidance.

We will provide timely updates as the policy landscape changes.

Quick Links:

Tools and Resources

Training for School Employees

Response Guidance for Policies or Impacts

Resources for Families and Students

 

Trump Administration Proposed Immigration Policies 

• Proposed Policies and Tactics (PDF): These include policies and tactics that have been identified through campaign statements and interviews as being under consideration by the incoming administration.

 

Planning for Potential Impacts for School Communities

• Potential Impacts (PDF): Any combination of proposed changes to immigration enforcement are likely to create prolonged, successive, and overlapping crises for school communities. These potential impacts are based on previous administration policies and their impacts. Updated on Jan. 13 with additional impacts on identifying students who qualify for McKinney-Vento protections.
• Planning Considerations (PDF): These planning considerations include partnering with community groups and local law enforcement to discuss and plan for specific possible scenarios involving students and families. Updated on Jan. 13 with additional considerations on McKinney-Vento protections and mental health.
• Planning for Immigration Enforcement On or Near School Grounds: These planning considerations include the difference between public and non-public areas and possible scenarios to consider before, during, and in the days after enforcement activity on or near a school campus. 

 

Tools and Resources 

Student Privacy

• General Messaging on Immigration and Student Privacy (PDF): These general message points align with state and federal law and follow the attorney general's guidance. 
• General Parent Letter on Immigration and Student Privacy (PDF): This letter, available in English and Spanish, can be customized.

During Enforcement Activity

• What to Do During Immigration Enforcement Activity (PDF): This resource contains general steps for school personnel should there be immigration enforcement activity on site. It is designed to be customized to align with district/school policies. 
• Immigration Officer Incident Report (PDF): Upon adoption by district/charter school administration, this sample form, based upon the “Model Policy on Responding to Requests for Access to School Grounds for Immigration-Enforcement Purposes” from the California Attorney General’s Office, may be completed by a school site administrator or their administrative designee if an immigration officer arrives on campus.
• Warrants and Subpoenas that May Be Used by Immigration Enforcement Officers (PDF): This document is intended to assist school site administrators in identifying the types of authority that may be provided by immigration officers making requests for access at school sites.

Supporting Students

• Resources to Ensure Student Safety During Walkouts or Protests: Policy changes at the federal level may prompt students and/or staff members to initiate protests or walkouts. It's important to have plans and protocols in place in advance to ensure students and staff remain safe.
• Distance Learning Units of Study: These SDCOE-designed units of study in grades K-12 are focused on grade-level essential learnings in each content area. These units were purposefully designed to integrate content, provide flexibility, and choice. 
• Continuing Your Child's Education - Parent Letter (PDF): This document explains for parents California Education Code 48204.4, which describes the conditions in which a child has the right to attend a school in California, even if they currently reside outside of the state. This template letter is translated into Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Haitian Creole, and Pashto. 
• Update Your Emergency Contacts Script/Messaging: One way to support families is to ensure the school has up-to-date contacts for each student in the event of an emergency, where the parent or guardian is unable to pick-up the student. This document has information in English and Spanish that can be customized and used to communicate with your school community.
  • There is customizable language for a poster or flyer encouraging families to update their emergency contacts in English and Spanish.  
  • This emergency planning tools for families webpage is an example of a resource. 

Emergency Operations Procedures

• Emergency Operations Procedure: Child Left at School (PDF): This modifiable template is useful for anticipating and responding to a situation in which a child is waiting at school to be picked up by their parent/guardian and attempts to reach the parent/guardian have failed. The sample procedure applies to students in a variety of situations, including actual or perceived immigration actions, and includes customizable templates schools may adopt, modify, or disregard.
• Emergency Operations Procedure: Person Detained by Immigration (PDF): This modifiable template is useful for anticipating and responding to a situation in which someone within the school community has been detained by immigration. It includes sample goals and actions for before, during, and after that schools may adopt, modify, or disregard. 
• Emergency Operations Procedure: Student Demonstration (PDF): This modifiable template is useful for anticipating and responding to a situation in which students plan to or participate in a demonstration or protest during school hours. The sample procedure includes sample goals and actions that schools may adopt, modify, or disregard. 

Training for School Employees

Welcoming Schools Training

This training focuses on legislation, policies, and best practices for creating a welcoming school for all students and families. To support compliance with California Attorney General guidance, it includes information on procedures for handling sensitive student information and anti-bullying policies as well as immigration enforcement-related scenarios. 

Download Presentation [PDF] Video Transcript [TXT]

Video time	Description of content
0:00-6:47	Overview of the students who are in our schools and a whole child and trauma-informed approach
6:47-19:55	Focus on reducing barriers that many students and families face during the school enrollment process
19:55-21:02	Bullying and harassment and protected classes
21:02-23:56	Student privacy, FERPA, and student records
23:56-27:25	Responding to immigration enforcement at schools
27:25-32:13	Common scenarios faced at a school in supporting students and families
32:13	Resources for school staff

Responding to Requests from Immigration Officers

Administrators or counsel for a school district who have questions, concerns, or information about ICE activities or enforcement at schools, please email the California Department of Justice at immigration@doj.ca.gov. A presentation for school administrators and officials to review the California Attorney General’s model procedures for responding to requests from immigration officers for access to the non-public areas of a school campus or to student information.

 

Response Guidance for Immigration Policies or Impacts

As of March 2025, the email address for reporting immigration enforcement incidents is now immigration@doj.ca.gov.

• California Attorney General Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s K-12 Schools in Responding to Immigration Issue: The purpose of the guide is to "equip local educational agencies with the updated information and resources necessary to continue to provide safe, welcoming environments for all students and to safeguard the rights and privacy of students and their families." 
• California Attorney General Quick Reference Guide for School Officials: This resource focuses on the immediate response to, and preparedness for, immigration enforcement including officer credentials, documentation that authorizes school access, requests for personal information about a student or their family (both for students who are minors and those over 18), and notification of local administrators and parents/guardians. 
• Summary of Required Policy Stances Related to Immigration (Word): This summary of policies, which should be revised before being used, may be helpful in creating job-specific training aids and quick reference tools.
• Model Policies Worksheet (Word): This worksheet is a companion to the Attorney General Guidance and Model Policies referenced above and can assist in reviewing local educational agency policies for compliance with California laws. 
• Memo on Student Privacy Rights (PDF): A customizable template for use by district administrators to inform staff members about student privacy rights.

 

Resources for Families and Students

• Guide for Students and Families on Immigration Enforcement Actions at California Schools: This two-page document from the California Attorney General's Office includes information on the right to a free public education, what is and is not required for school enrollment, personal information confidentiality protections, as well as student and family safety information. It is also available in Spanish with plans for additional languages to be added on the Resources for California’s Immigrant Communities webpage from the Office of the Attorney General.
• Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Plan: This toolkit from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center goes into detail about different childcare options available in case of an absent parent, where to find trusted immigration services, and how to prepare for contact with an immigration officer.
• Red Cards / Tarjetas Rojas: These cards from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center are available in 16 languages to help people understand and assert their Constitutional rights.
• Know Your Rights if ICE Visits Your House: This flyer from the American Immigration Lawyers Association helps families understand their rights and is available in multiple languages. There are also additional handouts for other scenarios available. 
• Fact Sheet for Child Welfare and Guardianship Stakeholders: This fact sheet describes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy that allows parents or legal guardians who are arrested or detained by ICE to maintain visitation with their child or incapacitated adult for whom they serve as guardian, coordinate their care, and participate in any related court or child welfare proceedings, without regard to the dependent’s citizenship or immigration status.