The New Haven Unified School District (NHUSD) is offering resources to people who are concerned about immigration enforcement coming to schools.
In May, NHUSD declared the district a safe haven for students and families threatened by immigration enforcement. The protections include a centralized check on all immigration enforcement warrants by the superintendent and the district’s legal counsel.
The school board was updated on actions taken since then. A staff report for the Sept. 15 meeting said all staff and administrators are being trained to support immigrant families and students.
District staff are trained to verify credentials and to not grant voluntary access to nonpublic school grounds—which includes classes, buses and school spaces.
The policies include not inquiring about a student’s immigration status during registration or any other time. The district is also protecting identifiable information from immigration authorities, including home addresses, emergency contacts, pickup lists and family workplace addresses.
Family service assistants would be available in all NHUSD schools to provide immigration related support and resources to parents and students. The assistants are trained by Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership.
Know Your Rights signs and immigration resources are available at all school offices and departments in multiple languages. A multilingual website is also available for families with questions about immigration enforcement and the school district. The NHUSD Immigration Web Hub can be found at: mynhusd.org/families/immigration-enforcement-safe-schools/.
