Mandatory training for all Vashon Island School District (VISD) staff members, informing them of precise protocols and actions to be taken if Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers (ICE) arrive on school grounds, will begin to roll out this week.
The training comes in the wake of multiple actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration immediately following his inauguration on Jan. 20. These included the revocation of prior guidelines, in place for the past 15 years, that have barred most immigration enforcement actions from taking place in “protected locations” including schools.
In a Jan. 31 email to the school district community, Superintendent Slade McSheehy announced that training of both VISD and Vashon Youth & Family Services (VYFS) staff members would take place throughout February, with all staff training sessions recorded for future viewing.
“Frontline” staff — a group including principals and directors, building office staff, VYFS staff, nursing staff, school board members and counselors — will be the first to receive training, on Thursday, Feb. 6, McSheehy said.
VISD is working closely with local human rights attorney Molly Matter, who is designing the staff training in consultation with school board members Lucia Armenta and Martha Woodard, according to McSheehy. The upcoming training, he added, may incorporate Highline School District’s “Clarify, Confirm, Consult” protocol,” which aligns with a new policy passed at VISD’s Jan. 23 meeting.
The policy, viewable at tinyurl.com/VashonICEPolicy, brought VISD into compliance with the Keep Washington Working (KWW) Act — a state law passed in May 2019 that, in part, guards the rights of all children, regardless of immigration or citizenship status, to receive a public education.
School districts were required to comply with the law by passing model policies related to the KWW Act, outlined in guidelines published by the Attorney General’s Office in 2020.
VISD’s long delay in doing so, said McSheehy in an email to The Beachcomber, was an oversight on his part, for which he took full responsibility, stating that the district’s need to respond to the urgent needs of vulnerable students during the COVID pandemic had resulted in the lapse.
According to the policy passed by the board on Jan. 23, almost all VISD staff members are now prohibited from giving consent to ICE or other immigration authorities to enter the district’s buildings or grounds. Instead, staffers are required to direct anyone attempting to engage in immigration enforcement to the school principal or authorized designee.
The policy additionally stipulates that any immigration officer attempting to communicate with a student, enter school grounds or conduct an arrest must first produce a court order or warrant, signed by a judge, to be verified by the district’s superintendent or legal authority before officers are allowed entry.
The policy also includes detailed instructions regarding what type of immigration-related information may be collected from students, how the district must respond to and report requests for information from immigration authorities, and how staff members should help prepare students for the possibility of family separation.
McSheehy also announced that VISD will create a web page to provide resources and information for both staff and community members related to immigration enforcement, which he expects to be completed by the end of February. Additionally, he said, Matter will offer virtual community training on family safety plans, with details to be provided when plans are set.
