St. Paul public school students can enroll in online classes if they feel unsafe attending class in person due to the immigration enforcement action in the Twin Cities.
Students and families interested in virtual learning should contact their current school’s principal or the district’s student placement center as soon as possible and request enrollment in the SPPS Online School, according to a district statement. The online school enrolls students K-12.
“ICE agents are not welcome in Saint Paul,” said a statement issued Friday by district officials. “They were not invited to our community, and they have been asked to leave by Governor Walz and numerous local elected officials. The Saint Paul School Board unequivocally joins that call: ICE must leave our community immediately.”
The St. Paul Public Schools board reiterated that ICE agents are not permitted on school grounds without a court-signed judicial warrant and the district will not coordinate with ICE operations. The district also will do everything within its legal authority to protect students and families from immigration enforcement in schools, the statement said.
Board members also said in their statement that their “hearts are broken” for the family of Renée Good, the 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by an immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
“We grieve alongside the students and families in the Saint Paul Public Schools community who have been torn from us by ICE enforcement actions,” the statement continued. “ICE is not making our community safer – they are terrorizing our neighbors, tearing apart families, and creating an environment of fear that harms everyone. Our community is not safer when people are afraid to leave their homes. Our students cannot learn in an atmosphere of chaos and terror. The presence of ICE in our neighborhoods fundamentally undermines the conditions necessary for children to thrive and for families to feel secure.”
Anyone who observes ICE agents near a school building should immediately contact the building’s principal, said the statement. Contact information for principals can be found at each school’s website.
St. Paul Conservancy for Performing Artists
Meanwhile, Tim Sullivan, the academic director for the charter school St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, said in a communication to families Monday that the school “remains committed to providing a safe, supportive learning environment for every student, regardless of immigration status, as required by state and federal law.”
Staff are trained to immediately notify school administration if any immigration or law enforcement agency comes to the school so that proper legal procedures are followed, Sullivan wrote. ICE is not permitted in the school without a court-signed judicial warrant and access to school spaces within the building are controlled and monitored, according to Sullivan.
Students’ privacy and safety are protected by state and federal law and the school takes those protections seriously, he wrote.
“We understand that this may be an anxious time for some families. Please know that your child’s health, safety, and welfare is always our number one priority,” Sullivan wrote. “If you have questions, need to update emergency contacts, or would like more information, please reach out. We are here to support you.”
Minneapolis Public Schools
Minneapolis Public Schools was closed Thursday and Friday and activities were canceled after a report of armed U.S. Border Patrol officers at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. The officers entered school property during Wednesday’s dismissal period, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
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Minneapolis students returned to in-person classes Monday, with the option to choose remote learning through Feb. 12.
For more information on SPPS safety policies and resources for families, go to spps.org/immigration.
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