SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — California lawmakers are working on a bill that would restrict federal agents’ access to public schools and students while involved in immigration enforcement.
According to Senate Bill 48‘s wording, “it would prohibit school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools and their personnel from granting permission to an immigration authority to access a school site, producing a pupil for questioning by an immigration authority at a school site, or consenting to a search of any kind at a school site by an immigration authority, unless the immigration authority presents a valid judicial warrant or court order.”
On Wednesday, the bill, introduced by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, was approved by the Senate’s Education Committee by a 6-1 vote.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has long-established that the Constitution guarantees a right to education regardless of immigration status, and until recently, the federal government had treated these sensitive spaces as safe zones,” Gonzalez said through a statement. “Immigration actions near schools have a chilling effect on school attendance, increased learning loss and harms student mental health.”
Right now, schools in California cannot collect any information or data related to students’ or their families’ immigration status and cannot disclose any student records without consent or court order.
If it becomes law, SB 48 would make it even harder for federal officials to gain any information or access to students.
In the coming weeks, Senate Bill 48 will go to California’s full senate for a vote that requires two-thirds majority.
If approved, the state Assembly will decide if it makes it to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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