Just weeks after President Donald Trump rescinded an Obama-era policy that banned immigration enforcement activities at schools and churches, a state lawmaker is proposing a bill to prohibit immigration officials from accessing Nevada school grounds without a warrant or a court order.  

In addition to banning immigration officials from school facilities, Assm. Cecelia González’s AB217 would make it a misdemeanor for a school district employee to share information about a student or a member of their household with officers investigating or enforcing immigration laws. 

The bill, introduced Feb. 3, has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. Assembly Education Committee Chair Selena Torres-Fossett said the committee is still reviewing all pieces of legislation and determining its calendar.

Currently, federal law prevents schools from releasing students’ education records, including information about immigration status, except in exceptional circumstances. In 2017, school districts including Clark and Washoe passed resolutions promising to protect students from immigration authorities pursuing them or their information. 

But González says that her bill would provide an additional layer of protection to immigrant families, especially given that school districts in rural Nevada may not have such resolutions in place and that existing federal protections could be rescinded. 

“The goal is to make this a standardized practice,” González said.

The bill comes as Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda has sparked fear and confusion among educators and immigrants in Nevada, which has the largest per-capita undocumented population of any state. In recent weeks, advocacy groups and legal aid organizations throughout Nevada have begun to host a flurry of events, including protests against mass deportations and “Know your Rights” workshops for immigrants.

Brisa Arce, a 44-year-old staffer at Sparks High School, said that parents at her school have expressed concern that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could show up at school and take their children. 

Although she believes that the school district’s existing protections will be enough to prevent immigration enforcement, she is concerned about the threat of deportation outside of school hours. More than 70 percent of students at her school identify as Hispanic or Latino. 

“Although sometimes the children take it as a game, it is a concern,” Arce said. “It is something that they have recorded in their mind and it is a fear that can affect them psychologically and in their school performance.” 

Arce worries because many of the families she works with are asylum seekers and many of them have stopped attending legal appointments in fear of being detained, she said.  

Washoe County school principals recently sent messages to families reassuring them that their students’ information will not be shared with anyone, including federal or local law enforcement, unless there is an emergency or a court order for the information. Elko County School District Superintendent Clayton Anderson sent a similar letter to his students and families. 

Clark County School District (CCSD) Police Lt. Steve Hewitt echoed this during a Feb. 5 event by the Hispanics in Politics nonprofit. 

“CCSD police officers will not stop, detain or question a person based solely on the person's immigration status, period,” he said, adding that as of that event, the department had not heard about any immigration agents entering or being near district schools.  

On top of curtailing immigration officials' access to schools, AB217 would make it a misdemeanor for a school police officer or Clark County school district employee to use a chemical agent, such as pepper spray, or electronic stun device, such as a Taser, on a pupil or minor.

Lawmakers outside of Nevada have also begun the fight against immigration enforcement in schools. In Oklahoma, educators and elected officials have opposed a proposed rule requiring schools to ask for proof of U.S. citizenship during enrollment (a 1982 Supreme Court ruling declared that children are entitled to a public education regardless of their immigration status), and in New York, some teachers are using encrypted messaging to alert each other of ICE sightings. 

The Nevada State Education Association (NSEA), a statewide teachers union, said it supports every student’s right to attend school without fear.

“Ensuring that federal immigration officials can only access school campuses through proper legal channels should not be controversial; it’s a necessary safeguard to uphold that right and maintain trust within our school communities,” the union said in a Monday statement to The Nevada Independent. 

NSEA said it was still evaluating the bill’s restrictions on use of chemical agents and stun devices on students. 

Washoe County School Board President Beth Smith, speaking as an individual and not in her capacity as a board member, said she’s supportive of the bill going beyond existing district resolutions to make it clear there are laws in place to protect students’ privacy and their right to attend school and outline consequences for breaking those laws.   

The Clark County Education Association declined to comment on the bill. 

The Clark County School District responded to a request for comment on both parts of the bill by referring to a previous January statement on its protocols to protect immigrants’ students rights to education and privacy and law enforcement officers or government officials on their campuses.