XPost: school.general, alt.society.labor-unions, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.law-enforcement   
   From: skid-markjoe@cpusa.org   
      
   Here's a bullshit story from Jillian Forstadt, she can be   
   reached at jforstadt@wesa.fm.   
      
   If you are in the country legally and comply with law officers,   
   there is nothing to fear.   
      
   Escalating federal immigrant raids from Minneapolis to Oakmont have set   
   students, families and educators in the Pittsburgh region on edge.   
      
   Rumors of an ICE agent approaching Taylor Allderdice High School’s   
   campus in Squirrel Hill last week had students and teachers on high   
   alert.   
      
   On Friday, about half of the students Joseph Papa, an English language   
   development teacher, works with at Faison K-5 in Homewood were absent   
   amid rumors of immigration enforcement agents in the neighborhood.   
      
   “And the thing is that not all families are always comfortable sharing   
   the reason that they're keeping their child at home is because of these   
   fears,” Papa said. “They're worried about disclosing information, which   
   is understandable.   
      
   “And so they might say that the child is being kept home because of   
   sickness, when in reality it's because of other fears and other concerns   
   about what's going on with the immigration raid.”   
      
   City school board members unanimously passed a resolution in 2017   
   barring ICE agents from entering PPS buildings without clearance from   
   the district’s legal department and superintendent.   
      
   And while federal guidance previously restricted Immigration and Customs   
   Enforcement agents from acting on or near school grounds, the Trump   
   administration rescinded that guidance last year. ICE encounters have   
   since been reported at schools in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago.   
      
   In Idaho and California, parents have been detained after dropping off   
   their children at school. Jose Flores, who was released from ICE custody   
   over the weekend, was getting his eight-year-old daughter ready for   
   school in the Pittsburgh suburb of Oakmont last month when he was   
   detained.   
      
   “As a teacher, what I think about always is, if a child is in that   
   constant state of fear and experiencing that, their ability to learn is   
   compromised,” Papa said. “A kid can't learn to their fullest potential   
   when all day long they're thinking about, what would happen if I don't   
   see my mom and dad when I go home tonight?”   
      
   Teachers, parents strategize   
   Roughly one in 10 of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ nearly 18,000 students   
   are English language learners, according to district data from October.   
      
   At Allderdice High School, the English language learner population has   
   grown by more than 50% over the past three school years.   
      
   The rumors circulating around the school community last week were false,   
   according to district spokesperson Ebony Pugh. She said a community   
   member visited the school to ask if ICE was present, leading to concern   
   that ICE was there, which was not the case.   
      
   But social studies teacher Traci Castro said the chain of events has   
   prompted some Allderdice teachers to strategize ways to protect students   
   and respond to their needs proactively. On Friday, nearly a dozen   
   teachers gathered in a colleague’s classroom to begin brainstorming   
   their response.   
      
   “I know some people are interested in doing training, like the legal   
   training stuff,” Castro said. “I know someone put up posters on the   
   walls to say to know your rights.”   
      
   “I could speak for myself and several of my colleagues: people are very   
   angry, worried, infuriated, horrified,” she continued.   
      
   Parents and educators have also convened on the messaging app Signal to   
   alert each other to suspected ICE sightings and plan their response.   
      
   Recent guidance from Pennsylvania’s Department of Education encourages   
   districts to ensure that their policies maintain student privacy,   
   establish policies and procedures in the event a student’s parent is   
   detained or deported, and designate a point person who will interact   
   with immigration enforcement personnel.   
      
   Attorneys with Weiss Burkardt Kramer, a law firm that represents more   
   than a dozen school districts throughout the region, issued guidance   
   last year with steps educators should take in the event ICE approaches   
   their school. That includes calling their district’s legal department,   
   sharing any judicial warrant, court order, or subpoena the agent   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)