Maine Township High School District 207 committed itself to ensuring what it has deemed a safe educational environment for its ethnically and racially diverse student body and staff.
School board President Sheila Yousuf-Abramson said it was important to let families know where the district stands on the issue. She explained at the Dec. 1 board meeting that public fears over recent immigration enforcement actions prevented some students from going to class and, in some cases, kept them from claiming vital resources.
“Many are wary of sharing information that might put them and their families in harm’s way,” Yousuf-Abramson said.
She also said that recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity dampened officials’ efforts to improve attendance in the district since some otherwise committed students are choosing not to attend out of fear of being abducted.
Of the nearly 6,200 students the Park Ridge-based district enrolls across three schools, 26% are Hispanic and 15% are Asian, according to Illinois State Board of Education demographics. The district is made up of Maine South, Maine East and Maine West high schools.
Several board members mentioned they were concerned about students who may be food insecure losing access to on-campus food pantries because they were afraid to come to school.
Board member Dean Patras said he believes that providing a safe and secure learning environment and access to things like the food banks is at the root of why he and most of his colleagues ran for the board in the first place.
“Like, the fact that we were talking about is concerning, right?” Patras said.
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources George Dagres said that District 207 is already doing most of what the resolution dictates, and that the policies on interacting with federal immigration enforcement agencies continue to evolve. He noted specifically a new procedure they had already been developing.
“We do have to come up with the specific form because it’s required by law: That if ICE were to come, or any agency, we would have to document it,” said Dagres.
Many board members echoed the point that the policies laid out in the resolution were ones the school administration already had in place, albeit unofficially. Further, the resolution cites policies already set by ISBE or already enshrined in state law.
The resolution states that the school district will not enter into any agreements with anyone to aid in the enforcement of immigration law.
Federal immigration authorities or anyone working with them will not be granted access to school property, and they will not be given information about any students without a criminal warrant signed by a judge.
Many of the board members saw some advantage to having these policies spelled out in a resolution, but mainly said they approved of the message it sends to the community.
School Board Vice President Edward Eicker noted that community members don’t follow policy closely to know where the district or officials stand.
He pointed out that the mayor of Des Plaines had to take part of a Village Board meeting to explain that the Des Plaines police are not working with ICE.
Maine West is located in Des Plaines.
Eicker said he hopes that when people see the details of the District 207 resolution, they will feel less afraid to take advantage of the resources the school district offers.
“These are a lot of things we’ve already been doing, but people may not know that,” Eiker said. “Hopefully it will bring some peace of mind to people who do need the resources that we offer and are just too afraid to reach out and ask for them.”
Alan Kozeluh is a freelancer.
