XPost: school.general, alt.society.labor-unions, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.law-enforcement   
   From: Colon.Powell@tutanato.com   
      
   On 2/13/2026 5:08 PM, Skid Mark Joe wrote:   
   > 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 administration rescinded that guidance last year.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   
   > presents, and then alerting the superintendent and families involved.   
   >   
   > But federal officials are now telling ICE agents they have broader   
   > powers to arrest people without a judge’s warrant, which conflicts with   
   > that advice.   
   >   
   > Castro said that justifies more immediate action from school districts.   
   >   
   > “There should be more proactive stuff and [we should] not wait for ICE   
   > to come around our school because the potential exists,” Castro said.   
   > “Squirrel Hill…it's a very diverse area.”   
   >   
   > “I think we should be more on the lookout and reach out to the community   
   > more,” she added.   
   >   
   > Attendance impacts felt, but “not yet a trend.”   
   > During a public hearing last year, Brashear High School teacher Kim   
   > Daelhousen said Spanish-speaking students in her English language   
   > development classes were already on edge, chatting nervously about the   
   > specter of deportation.   
   >   
   > “That’s where we are right now,” she told board members at the time.   
   >   
   > In California’s Central Valley, these fears translated to a 22% increase   
   > in daily student absences, according to one Stanford study. Student   
   > absences reported by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools in North   
   > Carolina nearly tripled two days after Border Patrol agents arrived   
   > there this fall.   
   >   
   > Pittsburgh, unlike these areas, has not seen a large-scale immigration   
   > enforcement action. City schools have only seen slightly elevated rates   
   > of absence, according to James Fogarty with A+ Schools.   
   >   
   > “And so it's hard for me to say whether that's a function of ICE   
   > enforcement or just the fact that we had a huge amount of snow days just   
   > last week,” said Fogarty, whose organization monitors student attendance   
   > data.   
   >   
   > But Fogarty noted there have been some notable increases in absenteeism   
   > at schools in the district with large English language learner   
      
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