Privacy and immigration status protections at SET
prin...@sethigh.org
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,
- New policy approved by the SET Board: Board Policy 2025-02 – Protection of Student Rights from Immigration Enforcement
- Student board member for 2025/26 is being elected next week
- Student project to support the unhoused needs yarn donations
- Don't forget that it's a 4 day weekend!
New policy approved by the SET Board: Board Policy 2025-02 – Protection of Student Rights from Immigration Enforcement
At last night's board meeting the SET Board of Directors affirmed that the school staff will follow the Federal and California laws that protect children from immigration enforcement while in school. Federal law does not allow us to share any personal information (or even enrollment status) with anyone without parent approval, and California State law does not allow us to inquire about or collect any information about immigration status. The only exception to the sharing of information is when a judicial warrant is presented that explicitly tells us how we must comply. We have been told by our lawyers that it is extremely rare for a judicial warrant to be granted that names a school as the location for an investigation since the crime would have to have been committed in the school for such a warrant to be granted.
With these protections in place, our school should continue to be a safe place for students to learn without fear of outside influences. This has always been the case, but we hope that having the official board policy will help our parents and students who may have been worried, feel a little more safe.
We will have "red cards" available for all of our students at the information table in our lobby. The "red cards" provide helpful information for our students and parents about your rights and can be presented to an arresting officer to let them know that you know your rights.
The main takeaway here is that all of our students are part of our family, we love them all, and we will do everything in our power to protect our own.
Student board member for 2025/26 is being elected next week
Our current student representative on the SET Board of Directors, Molly, is graduating this year, and we have begun the process of electing a replacement. The students were notified of this opportunity yesterday, and we have already had some great candidates step forward. Three of them were able to attend the board meeting last night, and our board members did a great job of doing some extra explaining to help the students understand what was happening, and more importantly, why it was happening. I loved seeing the interest in school governance and the transparency of that governance on full display for our students.
The next step for the 5 students who have expressed interest is to give speeches next week in front of the student body. We will hold the election immediately after so that the new board member can attend our final meetings of the year with Molly before their term officially starts on July 1st.
In case there are other students interested, per the board-approved policy, the first 5 interested students who are eligible are the ones who become candidates for the election. We currently have 5 eligible students, but there is a possibility that one or more students may drop out of the race. Students, send me a chat as soon as you can if you are interested so that you can be next in line in case there is an opening.
Student project to support the unhoused needs yarn donations
We have a student who has come up with a brilliant and generous plan to provide the clothing that he has been knitting all year to people who are experiencing homelessness. This is a message from Jaxon:
Hi everyone,
My name is Jaxon. I want to make beanies and socks for the homeless, and you can help! If you can bring yarn to the school there will be a box in the front office that you can donate to. All yarn that is donated will be used to make beanies and socks for the homeless.
Thank you!
Have a great 4 day weekend!
Dr. McCurdy
