How MISD Will Respond if ICE or Other Uninvited Person is On a School Campus 

Dear Mercer Island Community, 

Each student enrolled in our District is entitled to attend school and participate fully, regardless of their individual identity and immigration status. Our registrars do an exemplary job in the onboarding process of families. Requests for evidence of citizenship or immigration status are neither required nor asked for by our District.

We have all seen the news in the past weeks of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers’ actions in Minneapolis, other cities around the country and even right here in the Puget Sound area.

Mercer Island Police Chief, Michelle Bennett, and I spoke as recently as this week to affirm the support MIPD can provide in the event we were to have a disruption on a campus by ICE or any other entity. We would call MIPD and they would assist us in restoring operations in our schools.

District Policy sets clear expectations for how we will respond if ICE or a different federal immigration agency comes to a MISD campus or requests information. Our relevant policies are:

• 4300BP: Limiting Immigration Enforcement in Schools
• 4300P: Limiting Immigration Enforcement in Schools Procedure
• 3226A: Interviews and Interrogations of Students on School Premises
• 3226P: Interviews and Interrogations of Students on School Premises Procedures

If ICE were to appear on a campus or request access to students, staff, or information, our Front Office Staff and Administrators will respond by taking the actions listed below. In the event the matter escalates beyond what is described below, we would use additional interventions such as school lockdowns or rerouting buses as needed.

If someone identifying as an immigration officer comes to one of our schools

• Front Office staff will: 
  • Remain calm and professional.
  • Let the individual know that school administration will assist them.
  • Refrain from providing information or allow access to students, staff, records, or nonpublic areas.
    • Public areas are the front vestibules of each school and main office.
  • Contact the principal or administrator immediately.
• School Administrators will:
  • Ask for identification and note the agency and purpose of the visit.
  • Ask whether the request is accompanied by a court order or judicial warrant signed by a judge.
  • Share the request and any documentation provided with the Superintendent or designee immediately.

No staff member will make judgment calls or legal determinations in the moment. School Administrators will not make legal determinations on their own or feel pressure to act quickly. Review happens at the District level. Our staff referring the matter to school administration and the District is appropriate and anyone seeking access to students will anticipate this response.

Access to students, staff, or school spaces

• Immigration officers may not access students, staff, records, or nonpublic areas of campus unless the District is legally required to allow it.
• Administrative immigration warrants do not require school officials to grant school access.
• If access is legally required, it will be limited to what is specifically stated in the court order, and a District representative will be involved.
• Note, the public space in a school, particularly during school hours, is limited to the front entryway and main office.

Student records and information

• Staff will not share student or family information related to immigration enforcement.
• Any request for records must be referred to the Superintendent or designee for review.
• Parents or guardians will be notified if their student is directly impacted, when permitted by law.

MISD’s Supporting our Immigrant Families webpage has resources for families and information on Resolution No. 739 - Protecting the Right to Learn: Resolution on Student Safety, Privacy, and Immigration Enforcement passed by the School Board on April 8, 2025.

Our chief goal is to support students, maintain a calm and safe learning environment, and ensure staff feel confident about what to do.

We know this is a stressful time for our community. We hope this information provides an understanding of how our staff and the District will respond if ICE arrives on a school campus. Please know, these actions are in concert with how we would handle any unknown person who enters our school or wishes to contact a student. Unless it is the parent, legal guardian, or someone on your emergency contact list, we will not grant access.

In partnership, 

Fred Rundle