Northampton School Committee bars ICE from all district schools
The district will bar immigration enforcement agents from school buildings and buses and prohibit staff from sharing student information with ICE unless required by court order.
NORTHAMPTON — The School Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to declare all six Northampton Public Schools "safe zones" by banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement from district property. The policy would prohibit ICE agents from entering schools, buses, and school-sponsored events, except where explicitly required by law.
School Committee members said the measure responds to real fear in the district's immigrant community, even though they are not aware of ICE entering schools so far. The resolution also blocks district employees from granting ICE access to school buildings, sharing student information or records, or assisting in locating students or family members unless compelled by a signed judicial warrant.
School Committee member Amy Martyn said the step demonstrates the district's commitment to immigrants. "Although as far as we know we don't have ICE entering our schools, they are in our community and have impacted local families and the fear is real in our immigrant community," Martyn said.
The committee voted to approve the resolution titled "Ensuring Northampton Public Schools as Safe Zones Free from Immigration Enforcement" and intends to codify it as formal policy later this month through the Rules and Policy Subcommittee. The policy also mandates training for all school staff and administration on how to handle ICE contact and bans the district from collecting immigration records from students or families.
School Committee member Michael Stein raised concerns about building security, saying the district lacks sufficient office monitoring and staffing to track who enters and exits school buildings. Member Renika Montgomery-Tamakloe added that staff should have backup when confronting ICE agents, cautioning that one person alone might feel pressured to provide information. "I want us to keep that in mind and have redundancies in place so that it's not just one person standing alone, it's at least a group of two," she said.
English language learners teacher Susan Sullivan urged the district to develop unique safety plans for each building because of different layouts and to train substitute office staff as well as permanent employees. Northampton High School teacher Ian Petty said educators had reported growing fear among students about ICE and wanted "something we were doing collectively to support our students."
The School Committee's action follows a May vote by the City Council to unanimously approve a resolution to hold federal immigration enforcement accountable for violating the law. No residents spoke against the school measure during Tuesday's meeting.