New State Laws Bolster Santa Maria’s Student Protection Policies
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – New state laws will bolster student protection policies at schools and higher education institutions.
Educators say they feel validated.
Since March, the nation has seen a significant increase in immigration enforcement.
Locally, some Santa Barbara county cities and school districts are doubling down on policies affecting students.
“10% of Santa Barbara County is undocumented, and that means another many, many thousands of people more are married to those who have mixed documentation or the daughters and sons or relatives of,” says Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps.
ICE official policy is no enforcement at any schools, designating them as sensitive areas requiring multiple layers of authorization.
“They have to come through the district office and speak with me, the superintendent, to be able to get direction from there,” says Darren McDuffie, Santa Maria-Bonita’s superintendent. “But most definitely we haven't had any incidents at our schools.”
Activities near school campuses have increased anxieties, causing some parents to keep their kids at home.
“It's not a remote thing that's happening out of the White House or Washington, D.C,” says supervisor Capps. “It's really in our neighborhoods. It's in our schools. It's in our workplaces. It's definitely on our farms. It's at our in our shopping centers. It's everywhere.”
In September, governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 98 and Assembly Bill 49, bolstering student protection services, backing schools by state legislation.
“For us, it really is a validation that what we're doing is the right thing for our students,” says superintendent McDuffie.
The new state laws require ICE agents to have judicial warrants and valid identification, and for school districts to send notes to parents when agents are on campus.
Due to their urgency clauses, the laws went into effect as soon as the governor signed them.
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