Some, freshly pressed passports in hand, end up in their parents鈥� country of origin 鈥� even when it鈥檚 not their own.

Others are sent to live with family or friends while an unlucky number are placed in foster care, their parents鈥� rights in jeopardy and reunification precarious. 

The teenagers among them are sometimes thrust into a parenting role themselves: This overnight push into adulthood can leave them managing mortgages while their peers are picking prom dresses in the first of many sacrifices, immigrant advocates told 社区黑料. 

鈥淎 lot of these older siblings are forgoing college plans and looking for work, trying to figure out how to be mom and dad for their siblings,鈥� said Wendy D. Cervantes, director of immigration and immigrant families for The Center for Law and Social Policy.  

An 18-year-old Texas resident was left without parents or his U.S.-born siblings more than a year ago when his entire family was stopped by federal agents as they were driving to get medical care for his seriously ill sister. All ended up being sent to Mexico. Using the pseudonym Fernando Hern谩ndez Garc铆a, the young man testified before a House and Senate hearing last week that he was forced to give up college in order to work full time to try and keep the family home.

There are measures in place to help families with this unwanted transition. In 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the , a federal guideline meant to ensure 鈥渋mmigration enforcement activities do not unnecessarily disrupt鈥� parental rights. 

It allowed ICE to consider whether it needed to hold these immigrants. And if they were detained, the directive encouraged the agency to house them near their families so they could participate in child placement hearings. 

The agency was also advised to arrange transportation to and from court or otherwise allow parents or legal guardians to participate in such proceedings by phone or video.

鈥淚t required some sort of cooperation between ICE and local child welfare agencies,鈥� Cervantes said. 

But this directive has been under attack for years. It was weakened during the first Trump administration, bolstered in the Biden era and diminished once again when Trump took office for the second time 鈥� and launched a mass deportation campaign.

found that the parents of at least 11,000 U.S. citizen children were arrested and detained in the first seven months of Trump鈥檚 second term. The news site also determined the Trump administration is per day as did the Biden administration. 

That 11,000 number will have ProPublica reported, if arrests and detentions continued at the same pace in the ensuing months.

The data obtained by ProPublica covers a period up to mid-August 2025. Some of the Trump administration鈥檚 most aggressive immigration enforcement sweeps occurred after that in targeted cities, including Chicago, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Minneapolis.  

鈥淚 do fear in the months ahead that we could see more instances where kids unnecessarily end up in the child welfare system because of the way ICE has been conducting its raids,鈥� Cervantes said, adding its tactics have been carried out 鈥渋n a way that really doesn’t give us any assurances they are abiding by their own policy to allow parents to make decisions about what happens to their kids at the time of arrest.鈥�

Families too afraid to reach out

Added to this anxiety, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the execution of these and other directives, is in flux. The DHS is now in the second month of a partial government shutdown as congressional Democrats push to rein in the actions of federal immigrant agents and make them more publicly accountable. 

The department is also in the midst of a leadership change: Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin will replace former Secretary Kristi Noem, who was

Despite concerns about his temperament 鈥� a former cage fighter, Mullin once tried to coax a union leader into a physical altercation during a Senate committee hearing 鈥� his nomination was .

It’s unclear how Mullin, a 2020 election denier, would wield his authority. But he has said he and recently defended the killing of two Minneapolis residents who protested the government鈥檚 immigration enforcement efforts, calling victim Alex Pretti 鈥渄eranged.鈥� He later said he should not have made the comment, but declined to apologize for it. 

Parents considering their family鈥檚 future in the current environment are sure to wonder what comes next as they contemplate the limited tools available to them, including , which allows people subject to immigration enforcement in some states to designate a caretaker for their kids. 

It鈥檚 a valuable lever, said Julie Babayeva, supervising attorney with the New York Legal Assistance Group: It goes into effect the moment someone is detained. But many families are reluctant to apply for it, she said. 

鈥淲e have been talking to PTAs, schools and community organizations in heavily immigrant communities,鈥� Babayeva said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just difficult for people to trust this. They think, 鈥榃hat if I tell you my phone number and that leads to ICE coming to my house?鈥� People don’t understand that we’re not giving this information out to anyone, that it is confidential.鈥�

shows 19 million children in the U.S. have at least one immigrant parent and that 1 in 6 鈥� or 9 million school-aged children 鈥� live in a household with at least one noncitizen adult. An overwhelming majority of these kids are U.S. citizens. 

A Los Angeles teacher, who asked to remain anonymous because of her own citizenship status, recalled the case of two elementary school-aged children 鈥� and a toddler 鈥� left with their nearly 80-year-old grandmother, who had to return to work to support them after their parents were taken by ICE. 

Such disruptions inflict enormous psychological and emotional damage on children, she said. 

鈥淭hey鈥檝e heard the rhetoric of Trump saying he鈥檚 going after criminals and though they know that鈥檚 not true, they still don鈥檛 understand why their parents would be targeted,鈥� she said. 

Roughly were deported in Trump’s first year in office and of the in ICE detention as of February, more than 73% had no criminal convictions. 

Eric Marquez, a teacher at New York City鈥檚 ELLIS Preparatory Academy, which serves older, immigrant students, said that from a classroom perspective, what stands out most is that these newcomers often present as remarkably composed. 

鈥淭hey tend to put on a brave face, adapt quickly on the surface and rarely bring up in conversation the people in their lives who may have been detained or deported,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 often an understatedness to it.鈥�

At the same time, teachers can sometimes see the impact indirectly, including shifts in focus, attendance and energy, he said. 

Ellis Prep鈥檚 own Dylan Contreras was among the first high school students to be detained by ICE when he was arrested after a May 2025 court appearance. Held in a Pennsylvania detention center for 10 months, he was and returned to school for the first time March 24.

Immigrant families are not the only ones puzzled and angry over the administration鈥檚 tactics. Residents in Springfield, Ohio, worried their Haitian neighbors will be deported because their Temporary Protective Status is in jeopardy, have stepped up to do something about it 鈥� in this case, house their children. 

One woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of attracting stirred up by Trump, secured emergency foster care credentials to support kids who might need somewhere safe to stay while they wait for a more permanent placement. The process took eight weeks to complete, she told 社区黑料.

“I am ready for 0 to 18,” she said of the age of children she could take in at a moment’s notice. “I want to keep siblings together.鈥�

A sudden rush of unhoused kids felt imminent earlier this year when Haitians鈥� protective status was set to expire and word spread that federal immigration agents would soon arrive in Springfield to deport them. After some 600,000 Venezuelans lost their last year, a lawyer representing the group said 鈥渉undreds and potentially thousands of Venezuelan nationals (had)

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court prohibited the Trump administration from ending Haitian deportation protections and in the case in late April. 

Separation not easily undone 

Once separated, family reunification can be difficult, notes Gabrielle Oliveira, an associate professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education who has studied immigration for years. Bureaucratic hurdles mean it can take months for a U.S. citizen child to get a passport to join their parents in a foreign country. 

Oliveira said, too, some of the children who enter foster care have family eager to shelter them but they won鈥檛 step forward because they are too afraid to interact with the government.

These new forms of family separation are among many fears undocumented immigrants face. But it鈥檚 not the worst of them, Oliveira and other advocates said: Detention is by far the most frightening prospect. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 been harder and harder to get in touch with people who are detained,鈥� Oliveira said. 鈥淪ometimes months go by and (federal authorities) don’t even tell you where they are. So, parents are even more worried about that than the actual deportation.鈥�

And, she said, limited communication with family makes it challenging to come to a conclusion on child care. 

鈥淵ou can’t make decisions,鈥� Oliveira said. 鈥淵ou can’t make phone calls. You can’t figure out what the plan is.鈥�

Already, Cervantes said, her office has seen the fallout. 

鈥淲e’ve heard about 15- and 16-year-olds living by themselves for several weeks because their parents were detained and they had no idea where they were,鈥� she said. 鈥淚CE was not checking to make sure they were OK. These are U.S. citizen kids.鈥�

And there are other, practical issues that make it hard to reunite in a foreign country, Oliveira said, recalling one family trying to meet up in South America. 

鈥淭he dad got deported and the mom was here with the kids, and then she was trying to leave and go back to Brazil 鈥� but she was nervous that if she went to the airport, she would be arrested,鈥� Oliveira said. 

When children are left with undocumented relatives, it鈥檚 nearly impossible for them to leave the United States to deliver the kids to their parents, said Shaina Simenas, co-director for the Young Center鈥檚 Technical Assistance Program.

鈥淚f you have a young child that is left with another relative who has their own immigration needs, how would you get them to the country of origin?鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’re working with a lot of families who are from Venezuela, and there are so many challenges even getting Venezuelan passports 鈥� or getting flights to Venezuela. And, of course, there is the financial toll of buying international flights and paying for passports and travel documents.鈥�

Simenas believes poor record-keeping on the part of the government means a lack of accountability. 

鈥淚CE doesn’t consistently and reliably identify whether adults are caregivers for children and so that alone makes it harder to track what might have happened to their children after a parent was taken,鈥� she said. 

Many families separated during Trump鈥檚 first term have not seen justice, she noted. Nearly 1,000 children were still waiting to reunite with their parents in 2023, according to . 

鈥淔or families being separated now,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 think there are even fewer ways to track them, to be able to support and ensure they have access to reunify.鈥�

But just because we鈥檙e always worrying doesn鈥檛 mean that we鈥檙e always wrong. Children today are struggling with their mental health 鈥� struggling to maintain a semblance of hope about the future they鈥檙e inheriting. 鈥� report feeling so discouraged that it interferes with their daily lives. 

This youth mental health crisis has been with us for a moment. In 2018, in response to the horrifying Parkland, Florida, school shooting, President Donald Trump鈥檚 using federal School Safety funding for investments to 鈥渆xpand the pipeline of school-based mental health services providers.鈥� The ensuing began in 2019, near the end of Trump鈥檚 first term. 

And yet, despite the issue鈥檚 ongoing urgency, the second Trump administration . Among the schools that felt that loss was the Multicultural Learning Center, a public charter school on the outskirts of Los Angeles County. As the administration鈥檚 decision works its way through the courts, it鈥檚 worth considering what might be lost if we stop investing in supporting children鈥檚 mental health. 

A $4.6M grant for students鈥� well-being

Winter is sunny in Canoga Park, where the Multicultural Learning Center鈥檚 campus is cloudless, ice-free and pushing 70 degrees. The air鈥檚 crisp on a dry December Thursday in the school鈥檚 courtyard garden, which hosts a series of green, thriving native plants and a sign that outlines the school鈥檚 goals for its learners: 鈥淐aring, Respectful, Responsible, Safe, Tolerant.鈥� 

The dual language immersion charter school opened in after California voters approved a statewide mandate largely banning bilingual education. Its status as a charter allowed it flexibility from that decision, which it used to pursue a child-focused pedagogy in both English and Spanish. Co-founder and executive director Gayle Nadler says that these elements serve the goal of 鈥渓earner agency. We want our students to be ready to advocate for themselves.鈥�

This focus on students鈥� social skills and well-being sharpened as the school reopened after the pandemic. This tracked national鈥攁nd international鈥攖rends. A of the pandemic鈥檚 impact on children found that they 鈥渃onsistently point[ed] to a decline in child wellbeing globally.鈥� At the Multicultural Learning Center, school leaders now estimate that they had capacity to support only one-quarter of their children who needed services. 

In 2022, seeking to grow that capacity, the school applied with several other charters for one of . They were awarded nearly $4.6 million over five years, which launched at the beginning of 2023. Simultaneously, the school secured funding from to construct a small 鈥淲ellness Center鈥� where students could receive the mental health support they needed. 

That $4.6 million made it possible for the school to staff the center with two full-time therapists and a rotating group of graduate interns preparing for careers in social work or therapy. 鈥淭he funds get used to partner with universities to have master鈥檚-level students do their fieldwork with us,鈥� Nadler says, 鈥渢o hire recently graduated candidates from those same universities to work on our staff.鈥� 

The program at Multicultural Learning Center modeled the twin purposes of the grant: create more demand in the job market for school-based mental health therapists by funding those positions while making the schools a training ground for future therapists.

When the administration zeroed out the grants last April, it blocked MLC from accessing the last $1.9 million originally budgeted for the project.

The sudden loss of funds left grantees like Nadler in a lurch. She estimates that her school鈥檚 share of the money raised their mental health services capacity to a level that they were meeting the needs of at least 95% of students who needed support. To try to recover the resources they鈥檇 been expecting, the school joined a lawsuit headed by Washington state. 

The federal government technically ended the grants by denying their renewal, arguing that they were no longer aligned with the president鈥檚 second term priorities. While federal grants are subject to regular reviews to ensure that grantees are meeting expectations, the Multicultural Learning Center and their co-plaintiffs countered that the administration had made the choice to cancel their grants without any substantive consideration of the work being done. 

In December, , and ordered the administration to undertake an appropriate review of the grants by the end of the month. The administration then disbursed small 鈥渋nterim鈥� grants 鈥� $90,000 in the Multicultural Learning Center鈥檚 case 鈥� while individual reviews took place. As the deadline for these reviews neared, the Education Department requested an extension from the court while it prepared an appeal.听

On Feb. 24, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused, ruling that the administration appeared unlikely to convince the courts that it had provided grantees adequate reason for canceling their funding. 

In the meantime, the ruling meant that the department had to release the originally promised 2026 funds for the mental health grants for recipients like the Multicultural Learning Center.

The saga is far from over. As the Education Department plans its appeal, it released six months of the promised 2026 funding. In a letter sent to grantees, the department explained that the remaining half may be made available after it conducts an 鈥渦pdated performance and budget report,鈥� depending on how the lawsuit is ultimately settled.

For now, the school is muddling through, staffing the Wellness Center through the end of this school year with the half-year of funding they were able to pry loose through the courts. Nadler says it鈥檚 a priority to maintain these services, but isn鈥檛 sure where she鈥檒l find the funds to replace the federal resources if the Trump administration ultimately succeeds in blocking the rest of the 2026 money they鈥檇 budgeted for. 

Taking care of the kids still No. 1

Almost anything can become normal if we let it. Remember traveling without a phone in your pocket? Remember when school shootings were so rare that, when they occurred, we expected our political leaders to act to make them even less likely?

Humans can get used to most anything. But that doesn鈥檛 mean that we can navigate any particular new normal with an equal degree of ease. This is particularly true for children, who are less practiced at accommodation than their parents and caregivers. You might have grown used to bloodstained classrooms and brazen public corruption, but your 11-year-old鈥檚 gonna have questions when they first see these sorts of things. 

As I鈥檝e written many times now, this is the key to understanding the United States鈥檚 youth mental health crisis. The various tech boogeymen haunting public discourse 鈥� smartphones, social media, screens more generally 鈥� are real problems, but insufficient for understanding the depth of the problem. No, today鈥檚 kids are gloomy because they are clearsighted: we have dealt them a genuinely terrible hand. 

To dig them (and ourselves) out of this hole, we need to 1) make actual, effective steps towards a safer, stabler and more dignified world worthy of our children鈥檚 dreams; and 2) provide mental health services to help repair the damage we鈥檝e done to their well-being. 

鈥淭he number one thing you can do to prevent school violence,鈥� Nadler says, 鈥渋s mental health counseling, build[ing] relationships, taking care of the kids. That鈥檚 the number one thing. It鈥檚 not metal detectors, it鈥檚 not active shooter drills, it鈥檚 not armed guards, none of that.鈥� 

鈥淚 just can鈥檛 imagine a world,鈥� she added, 鈥渨here we don鈥檛 take care of people 鈥� and it starts with children.鈥�

Cardona, a fellow at the , through his speeches and other appearances, continues to tell students their ability to speak more than one language is an enormous asset. Not only can it bring them career success, he says, but it deepens their . 

His praise for the multilingual community runs counter to the current administration鈥檚 agenda: President Donald Trump issued an executive order in July designating , a pronouncement that immediately sparked efforts to 鈥渕inimize non-essential multilingual services (and) redirect resources toward English-language education and assimilation.” 

Trump and his allies also rolled back longstanding that kept federal immigration agents . Children and their parents have been arrested during pickup and drop-off times, causing absenteeism to spike. And the schools and other groups that serve immigrants are scrambling to stay out of the spotlight, curbing outreach in many cases. 

The dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, too, has left the country鈥檚 5 million English learners with little protection or as to their : After a historic round of cuts, the department鈥檚 Office of English Language Acquisition, for example, was left with . 

Cardona, who also works to shore up the leadership skills of other educators through his , said he鈥檚 hurt by what has happened to the department whose leadership he left in January 2025.

But even amid the chaos, Cardona sees hope. Trump鈥檚 power is temporary, he said. Education lasts a lifetime. 

鈥淒espite what we’re hearing from this administration, the opposite is true,鈥� Cardona said, when asked how he would advise multilingual learners today. 鈥淛ust wait it out. You don’t have to change your stripes to be successful. I didn’t. Having two cultures and two languages is one of your greatest strengths.鈥�

I caught up with Cardona last week and asked him about the future of multilingual learner education in the U.S. The 50-year-old, who began his career teaching fourth grade in his hometown of Meriden, Connecticut and will be a featured lecturer at Harvard, where he recently at the Kennedy School, was candid in his responses.

What are your three biggest concerns about the state of multilingual learner education right now?

That multilingualism is not being valued as a superpower, that the funding for basic support is up in the air and that it continues to be an ancillary afterthought in many of our communities, as opposed to a tool to provide a skill for students that can serve them well in a globally competitive society.

Programs serving multilingual learners are being sidelined. What鈥檚 happening here? 

It reminds me of when the Supreme Court made a decision about affirmative action and there was an extrapolation of intent. They said, 鈥淣ow, we can’t have programs that support students from different backgrounds because that goes against what the Supreme Court said.鈥� And so they extrapolate, they make up what it means for implementation.

It鈥檚 analogous to what is happening here. 鈥淲ell, we鈥檝e got to cut DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) so that means no parent support, no translating documents, no language line. We’re going to cut those things from the budget because we’re not sure that we want to continue to support ESL programs because the new secretary said no DEI, that we can’t favor one group over another.鈥�

They’re extrapolating or blaming up to get away with cutting things that they don’t understand 鈥� or agree with in the first place. There is an overprescribing of an intent that was really never there. Part of it is to justify budget cut decisions or because in some places, now it’s not chic to promote multilingualism. So why bother?

There are places in our country 鈥� Arizona, for example 鈥� where there are . So, they took it further. This is what California went through in the 鈥�90s and 2000s with (a voter-approved measure that required schools to teach immigrant children only in English). And so you have people doing underground work of multilingual education, which is sad, that in 2026 we have people hiding what they’re doing to promote multilingualism when in every other country it鈥檚 almost a prerequisite.

Because of what’s happening at the federal level, people have permission now to kind of get rid of some of the programming that we know supports students and families who are learning English 鈥� or multilingual programs where students are learning another language.

What is causing some districts and schools to do this? Is it racism or budgetary concerns? 

From my perspective, it鈥檚 a little bit of both. 鈥淲hy are we spending money on these programs when we could spend it on something else?鈥� It’s the low-hanging fruit, and quite frankly, you’re not going to see too many parents of Latino students speaking up at board meetings if they’re worried about being harassed by immigration. Because the browner you are, the more you’re subject to vilification. 

It starts at the top. You鈥檝e got the president , murderers, painting a picture that immigrants are bad people.

To exclude racism would be Pollyannaish on my part, but to think that it’s only that would be minimizing the nuanced realities that many districts face, saying, 鈥淚f I have to cut, I’m going to cut where I鈥檓 going to get the least resistance.鈥�

How does it make you feel to see the Education Department dismantled? 

It hurts because I know the impact it’s going to have on the students furthest from opportunity. The damage that has been done in the last 12 months will take decades to correct. 

Why do you think it will take decades to repair what鈥檚 happening to multilingual education? 

I’ll start with the Office for Civil Rights. When you take out the arm of enforcement that ensures students鈥� civil rights are being protected, accountability is gone. So what does that mean? That it could be the Wild West and no one’s paying attention because we closed seven of the 12 offices whose job it was to make sure students’ civil rights were not being violated. 

When you cut 鈥� or threaten to cut 鈥� (English Language Acquisition grants) or you run applications for grants through an AI scanner to pick out the words 鈥渄iversity鈥� or 鈥渆quity鈥� to make sure you’re not giving grants to those grantees, you’re basically creating a culture of 鈥渄on’t do this 鈥� or else.鈥� 

And people, in order to get the funding they need to provide the basic needs in their districts, are going to move away from programs that could be viewed as helping address disparities in access and outcomes. 

And what about other moves inside the department? 

I see special education going to HHS (Department of Health and Human Services), and I often say they’re sending it to the least competent Kennedy. So, let鈥檚 look at what’s happening there. That department has been downsized as well. When you take 50% of the Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and you dismiss half the people and then you take the other half and you send them over to the HHS, where they’ve diminished their staff, and now you’re asking them to do the supervision, oversight and support. When you remove that, you’re left with great variance throughout our country in the ability to provide services, support, and accountability. 

I would argue that the red states, the ones who voted for this administration, are the ones that are going to suffer the most 鈥� the rural communities where they only have their local public school. They don’t have other options. 

This administration will only last for a finite amount of time. How might a new administration roll back these changes?  

I have hope in not just the federal government picking up where it left off, but I am very encouraged by my conversations with the multilingual learner community. They鈥檙e building alliances that do not rely on the federal government 鈥� because they checked out. 

They’re developing a framework. For example, , (an advocacy group for multilingual learners) is led by the same people that fought Proposition 227 30 years ago. They built an alliance back then and they created what’s called the State Seal of Biliteracy. So, when they , they said, 鈥淲e’re going to acknowledge that if you’re multilingual, you’re going to get a State Seal of Biliteracy, a badge of achievement.鈥� And when I was secretary, all 50 states adopted that seal. 

The pendulum is going to swing back, but the federal government is only going to be one player. I’m counting on these coalitions to accelerate the remediation and innovation around English language development. I see that happening across the country.

If you could speak directly to multilingual learner teachers, what would you say? 

Consider yourself blessed and fortunate that you’re serving at a time when our students need you, where you’re providing that emotional safe harbor. Your words are the ones that they’re going to remember 鈥� not what’s being said on CNN or Fox News.

Absenteeism is rampant in the immigrant community. How can schools get these students back in the classroom?

This is not the answer for that question, but the first thing that came to mind is vote. We need to get off our asses and see the impact that this had on our students, and we need to be angry. We need to not allow for this to continue any longer than it needs to.

With regard to the students that are right now home, I struggle to look a parent in the face in a community where they’re being harassed by ICE and say, “Send them to school, don’t worry, they’re 100% safe,鈥� because we know that’s not true.

What I will say to those families is know your rights. And also, know the culture in which you’re sending your children. Is that school protecting your child? Will you have alert calls? Does your district have a practice to prevent schools from becoming hubs of immigration (enforcement) efforts? 

In many parts of our country, we’re not protecting our students from having our schools be the places where these raids are happening. I had a student in my hometown get picked up when he was going to an immigration center to check in, as he was supposed to. He missed graduation because he was following the rules.

What do you make of this moment for us as a nation?聽

We’re going through a period right now where a lot of the fundamental principles of democracy are being questioned. It’s a stain on our beautiful country’s history. The pandemic of prejudice that we’re dealing with now is harder to lead through than the pandemic of disease that we went through five years ago. We got through the pandemic of disease because we came together. What’s happening now is this pandemic of hate and prejudice is pulling us apart. But if you look deeper, you see stories of resilience and of the power of unity.

That afternoon, agents appeared in front of at least two nearby elementary schools, reportedly waiting for parents to pick up their children, 鈥渁nd at one point they were looking into kindergarten classroom windows and just scaring the living daylights out of the children,鈥� said the director, who asked not to be identified to protect the children she serves. 鈥淭hey have guns, they have rifles. They look scary.鈥�

Helicopters also flew overhead at a circling as kids paraded through the streets in their costumes, according to stories collected from Illinois Head Start families on how the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in their state last fall affected them.

Earlier on the 31st, the Illinois director said she had gotten word through phone calls and Signal channels that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had flooded the area, she told 社区黑料. A family on their way to enroll their young daughter in an early learning center that shares space with her Head Start program was stopped a block or so away at a major intersection. The father was detained in front of his wife and child, she said.

A dozen Head Start associations representing more than 100,000 children across the country, including the one in Illinois, sent a letter to Congress Tuesday demanding that immigration agents be barred from entering Head Start, child care and pre-K classrooms and premises, including parking lots. 

For nearly three decades, that was a largely accepted practice: Immigration enforcement was prohibited in and around schools, hospitals, places of worship and other so-called sensitive locations. 

One of the first things President Donald Trump did at the start of his second term in January 2025 was . Reinstating those constraints is now one of at least meant to rein in ICE enforcement that congressional Democrats say they need in order to support long-term Department of Homeland Security funding and end the partial government shutdown that is

Their conditions were outlined in a signed by the House and Senate Democratic minority leaders, U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, and include more widely publicized rules, such as prohibiting agents from covering their faces with masks and mandating visible displays of identification. 

This week鈥檚 entreaty from the Head Start associations echoes those congressional demands. The early learning groups also urged federal lawmakers to ban DHS agents from interfering with school drop-off or pickup at their programs, including at bus stops, citing another incident in Chicago where a father was his two young kids to school. They were left in the back of the car alone.

鈥淎cross the country, children are being harmed by immigration enforcement actions,鈥� the letter reads. 鈥淗ead Start programs report that children are experiencing changes in behavior and exhibiting signs of fear and anxiety. Families are missing work, keeping their children home, and facing housing and food insecurity.鈥�

Last Thursday, Senate Democrats blocked a spending bill , extending the shutdown and demonstrating they remained firm in their demands.

That same day marked a major change in the department鈥檚 increasingly unpopular leadership, with Trump Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The move followed questions about her handling of department spending as well as mounting criticism around her response to the deadly ICE shootings of two American citizens at protests in Minneapolis earlier this year. 

Trump announced his plan to nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her replacement, though his new pick does not seem to signal any planned shift in enforcing the president鈥檚 mass deportation agenda. 

鈥楽afer but not safe鈥�

Policy limiting immigration enforcement near schools, hospitals and churches was formally introduced in the early days of the Clinton administration through a

In the decades since, similar policies have been modified, clarified or codified by presidents from both parties. In 2011, near the end of President Barack Obama鈥檚 first term, his administration formally expanded the policy, which was then further clarified under President Joe Biden in 2021.

Trump鈥檚 January directive marked a significant departure from these largely bipartisan, long-standing rules, including during his own first term, when DHS issued a saying they would continue to follow sensitive location protocol. 

According to a DHS the policy Trump put forth in his second term was instituted to prevent 鈥渃riminal aliens 鈥� including murders [sic] and rapists鈥� from being 鈥渁ble to hide in America鈥檚 schools and churches to avoid arrest.鈥� Some more stringent guardrails have since been reinstated for places of worship, but not for schools or early learning centers.

Providers in Illinois 鈥� and across the country 鈥� argue this scenario only serves to traumatize children and make their educational spaces less safe.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had kids that aren鈥檛 coming anymore because they鈥檙e too afraid to come to school,鈥� said Kelly Neidel, the executive director of a different Head Start agency in Illinois, which also provides wraparound services to families. 鈥淥ur food pantry [has] declined. So these people are making a choice 鈥� to eat or potentially get picked up.鈥�

In April 2025, a number of organizations filed a lawsuit in Oregon, challenging Trump鈥檚 new edict and in September, they were joined by , including staff and parents from a preschool.

In February, the country’s two largest teachers unions filed an , citing an incident in Oregon in which agents smashed in the car window of a father dropping his child off at a day care, as well as students and teachers at Minneapolis鈥檚 Roosevelt High School being assaulted with tear gas in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Renee Good.

While advocates and providers are hopeful that a forthcoming DHS bill will include a reinstatement of sensitive location protections, some argue it wouldn鈥檛 go far enough. 

The Illinois Head Start director, who went out patrolling on Halloween to protect families and kids, said now that she鈥檚 seen what federal immigration agents are capable of, it would make her feel 鈥渟afer but not safe.鈥�

鈥淚t might deter them from coming, but would it deter all of them?鈥� she asked. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I honestly cannot answer that question. I cannot answer confidently that they would not enter even if that order was in place.鈥�

Wendy Cervantes, a director at The Center for Law and Social Policy, is helping to lead the charge on federal legislation, which would codify sensitive location policies into law, significantly strengthening their power.

, introduced in the House in February 2025, would prohibit immigration enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of such places, except in certain extreme circumstances. If an officer violated these rules, any resulting information wouldn鈥檛 be admissible in court and the targeted person could move to terminate any resulting removal proceedings. 

Since early January, the bill has gained 33 co-sponsors in the House and four in the Senate, meaning over two-thirds of the Democratic caucus is officially in support. It has also been endorsed by over across the country. No Republicans have signed on.听

Some states, including Illinois, have passed their own bills over the past year, but because they have to align with federal policy, they鈥檙e largely aimed at providing guidance and setting protocols for how local entities should address ICE. 

鈥淚t would make a huge difference to have this done at the federal level,鈥� Cervantes said.

鈥楢 horrendous day鈥�

The Illinois director of programs, who funds centers across a metropolitan area in the state, said that from day one of the second Trump administration she felt a significant shift in the federal approach to early childhood learning. In addition to increased ICE enforcement, her Head Start classrooms 鈥� along with thousands of others across the nation 鈥� experienced delays in funding that threatened to shutter them. 

Once their grant came through, she and her colleagues had to wade through the realities of operating under the administration鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion ban, which threatened the core of their work, she said.

Things escalated in September after a father of two, was shot and killed during a highly publicized ICE traffic stop in nearby Franklin Park, Illinois. He had just dropped off one of his children at a Head Start classroom.

鈥淲e knew they would eventually be coming our way,鈥� she said, and early learning centers across the region began to prepare. 

That reality hit the morning of Oct. 31 鈥� 鈥渁 horrendous day鈥� she said, which filled her with fear and made her cry tears of anger. 

And the fear has not subsided, she said, for the families she serves, the staff she employs or for herself. As the child of immigrants and a woman of color, she鈥檚 started carrying her passport.

Mirroring steps taken by other early childhood providers in Illinois, images of fake and real warrants have now been posted at the front doors of her centers so staff can differentiate, along with a script of what to say should an ICE agent approach. Head Start Parent Council meetings have moved to Zoom so parents who fear leaving their homes can still remain involved, and centers have organized food drop-offs. 

Programs have installed incident commanders and some have hired security details. Others have their own staff standing guard, but directors fear for their safety too, since many are immigrants themselves.

In November, ICE agents chased one day care worker into the center where she worked in Chicago鈥檚 North Side neighborhood. She was in front of children, and subsequently arrested. She was a week later after a federal judge ruled her arrest was illegal because she wasn’t given a preliminary bond hearing.

Volunteer rapid response teams have formed across Illinois to alert providers of nearby ICE activity. In one incident, they were called to stand guard during a field trip to a children鈥檚 museum where ICE was 鈥渉ot and heavy,鈥� according to Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, the executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association, which advocates for all state providers.

鈥淟ast fall was terrible,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 cried every day.鈥� 

鈥淥ur ask is keep ICE out of Head Start [and] early Head Start classrooms, facilities, our playgrounds, our parking lots and not interfere in our work or our day-to-day,鈥� she added. 鈥淔amilies need safe spaces to send children 鈥� making our facilities safe when ICE is surrounding them is really hard.鈥�

For example, as dramatic as the Trump administration鈥檚 demolition of the U.S. Department of Education feels 鈥� this simply delivers on a core, decades-old Republican Party , one the GOP only really suspended from 2000 to 2008. 

The administration鈥檚 sustained in government programs, society and schools is another of those throwback moves. It might feel new, it might feel unthinkable in a country like ours, one with an exceptional history of linguistic diversity 鈥� from German-language to Univisi贸n and , to polyglot sports stars and and . But the current crusade against America鈥檚 many non-English languages is actually another atavistic revival of a longstanding conservative project. 

While this monolingual project has found periodic success in the past, the administration鈥檚 position occupies surprisingly unpopular turf in the present. from families of school-aged kids suggest that this move runs counter to Americans鈥� current views on multilingualism 鈥� particularly in U.S. schools. 

Polling and focus group data from I published at The Century Foundation suggest that Trump鈥檚 English-only agenda is unpopular. My co-authors and I conducted a half-dozen focus groups in English and in Spanish with 64 Latino families across California 鈥� and used the results to construct a survey that we administered to a diverse group of 1,000 families in the state. 

We found overwhelming family interest in bilingualism. Fully 94% of families that speak a non-English language at home said that it was 鈥渧ery鈥� or 鈥渆xtremely鈥� important that their child grow up speaking multiple languages. Perhaps more surprisingly, 55% of monolingual English-speaking families agreed. 

Bilingualism isn鈥檛 just popular as a value or a possible set of skills for children. Families we spoke with made it clear that they鈥檙e enthusiastic about enrolling their children in bilingual or dual language K鈥�12 programs. Nearly two-thirds of families speaking a non-English language at home 鈥渟trongly鈥� agreed that it was helpful to have their children learning two languages at school, and another 30% 鈥渟omewhat鈥� agreed. 

Further, when we asked respondents to rank their interest in bilingual education programs on a scale of one to 10, their average rating was a 7.9. More than three-quarters of respondents ranked their interest in bilingual education at seven or higher. Latino families showed similar levels of interest, with 40% rating their interest in bilingual education as 10 out of 10. 

We focused on California families for this study because it, along with Massachusetts and Arizona, hosted a surge of English-only political crusading just a few decades ago. Around the turn of this century, conservatives fought to ban bilingual education and establish English as the 鈥溾�� in their and across the broader country. The organizations, like , carrying this 鈥淓nglish-Only鈥� banner were overt in linking their war on multilingualism to an anti-immigrant, anti-multicultural agenda. 

A few years earlier, while running for president in 1995, , “With all the divisive forces tearing at our country, we need the glue of language to help hold us together. If we want to ensure that all our children have the same opportunities in life, alternative language education should stop and English should be acknowledged once and for all as the official language of the United States.”

Many of these 1990s vintage, English-only policies have been by legislation or by voters in state referenda, but the Trump administration breathed new life into them in 2025. Last March, the president signed designating English as the official language of the United States and rescinding non-binding guidance on when federal agencies should provide services in multiple languages. In July, the administration released discouraging federal agencies from offering translation services and instructing them to 鈥減rioritize English.鈥� 

If this feels negligible 鈥� a minor issue far too insignificant to be politically salient 鈥� consider that attacks on multilingualism are (inevitably) attacks on highly popular education programs like dual language immersion schools. The administration鈥檚 aggressive detention and deportation campaign is already reducing the daily linguistic diversity of U.S. schools by for of and English learners. 

Should it continue, will shrink the country鈥檚 multilingual student population. Not only are linguistically diverse English learners to , they鈥檝e been buttressing school enrollment levels in . 

Put another way: our data indicate that Trump鈥檚 immigration agenda may somehow have even more room to fall as it erodes the multilingual vision of American society that people like. 

Many have soured on harsh detention policies that are , and/or law-abiding community members and . Opposition to these policies will only grow as the administration鈥檚 ugly treatment of immigrants begins harming the schools of more families 鈥� whatever languages they speak at home. 

In late November, the leader of a Native American Head Start program on a reservation in Western Washington State opened an email from the federal government to see that her annual application for funding had been denied.听

The government shutdown had already delayed the much-needed funds by weeks, threatening a closure of her center, which serves toddlers and preschoolers in a tribe of less than 1,000. And now, a week after the government had re-opened, her application had been 鈥渇lagged for containing language that is not allowable under current federal guidance.鈥�

The culprit? Two trainings for teachers 鈥� one focused on inclusionary practices for kids with autism and the other on tools to support young children as they process trauma. Integral to both 鈥� and also part of the rejection 鈥� an acknowledgment that Native American children would receive priority enrollment in her Head Start classrooms and programming, as federal policy stipulates. 

鈥淏ut we鈥檙e supposed to do those things,鈥� the education director, who asked not to be identified because she fears retribution from the Trump administration, told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o for them to pull them? I鈥檓 just 鈥� I鈥檓 not understanding.鈥�

Ultimately, although she deeply believed the training sessions and prioritizing indigenous children were inherent to her center鈥檚 success and part of its stated mission, she wiped the offending language. Her updated grant was almost immediately approved.

Until last week such existential calculations were being forced on Head Start programs across the country by the Trump’s administration 2025 executive order banning practices involving diversity, equity and inclusion. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued temporarily halting the administration’s anti-DEI edict. 

鈥淭his is a huge victory for kids!鈥� Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Head Start & Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, said in a statement. 鈥淲hen a Head Start program has their funding withheld because of their efforts to provide effective education to children with autism, serve tribal members on a reservation, or treat all families with respect, it is an attack on the fundamental promise of the Head Start program.鈥�

The federal early education and support program for low-income families turned 60 last year, a milestone that coincided with perhaps its most challenging and chaotic year. In 2025, the Trump administration  froze 鈥� then quickly unfroze, then delayed 鈥� grant funding, shuttered five regional offices and fired scores of employees. And during the government shutdown, roughly 10,000 kids across 22 programs lost access to services.

The administration also took aim at Head Start’s of better preparing young children in poverty for school by forbidding providers from overtly addressing issues of race, gender or disability, experts said. The banned word list for grant applications included “disabilities,” 鈥渦nderprivileged鈥� and 鈥淣ative American.鈥�

The Washington State Native American Head Start director said on reservations 鈥渏ust about every one of our children have been touched by trauma鈥� that relates to their race and the painful history of indigenous people in the U.S. 

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 know how to work with kids where things are being triggered,鈥� she added, 鈥渢hen how are we going to move forward and have the best education for these kids so they are not shutting down all the time?鈥�

Thrilled but cautious

The Jan. 6 injunction was part of a lawsuit filed in April 2025 against Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials, alleging that the administration was attempting to illegally dismantle Head Start, which serves roughly 700,000 children and families a year.

Roughly 80% of Head Start鈥檚 funding comes from HHS and it has long been a stated goal of the right wing to eliminate the program.

The ruling means that for the duration of the ongoing case, the administration can鈥檛 enforce the DEI ban nor can it punish Head Start providers for including DEI-related language in their applications or practices in their programs. The judge also ruled the administration cannot fire any more employees at the Office of Head Start, though the sweeping layoffs that have already occurred stand. 

Back in September, the same judge granted a temporary injunction halting the administration from banning undocumented preschoolers and other groups of immigrant children from enrolling in Head Start programs.

In a mandated announcement Friday afternoon, the federal Office of Head Start acknowledged the court鈥檚 ruling, saying, certain actions against “DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) … may not be implemented or enforced鈥� for the time being, though they didn鈥檛 provide any guidance for providers who were forced to remove training and programming in past applications.

The Office of Head Start and HHS did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether further guidance was forthcoming. 

The Washington grantee expressed cautious optimism in response to the ruling, paired with significant anxiety about what comes next. Her approved application is a binding contract, she said, and since it does not include the trauma and autism trainings or prioritization of native kids, she fears she鈥檒l be deemed out of compliance and forced to pay back the money if she proceeds in that direction anyway. 

She said she could try to re-submit an updated application that includes the previously banned words, but 鈥渢hat would be calling more attention to us, and I really am afraid of the retaliation,鈥� especially given the non-permanent nature of  the injunction.

鈥淲henever you put 鈥榯emporary鈥� on something, I鈥檓 always cautious,鈥� she added. 鈥淵es, if more things come out I feel like there will be support and it鈥檒l take care of this, but you can鈥檛 be certain of that in this political climate.鈥� 

It鈥檚 possible the Trump administration could appeal the injunction and it鈥檚 not clear how long it will take the underlying case to work its way through the courts.

In the meantime, Ryan, executive director of Washington’s Head Start Association, emphasized that the Trump administration 鈥渃an鈥檛 enforce a contract that is going against the law.鈥� But, he acknowledged, 鈥渨hat that means on the ground is different, because there鈥檚 so much fear of retaliation.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 getting a sense that people will move with a lot of caution at first here to see what happens,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don’t know if they’re going to want to make wholesale changes right out of the gate.鈥�

Linda Morris, senior staff attorney at the ACLU鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Rights Project and one of the attorneys who filed the suit,  said that while this ruling 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 undo those harms that the administration already inflicted,鈥� it鈥檚 still 鈥渁 huge win for families and it鈥檚 a huge win for Head Start providers.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled with the decision,鈥� said Morris.

The initial DEI ban, she said, had put Head Start providers in 鈥渁n impossible bind,鈥� since they were being required to remove programming and words from their grant applications that were required by the statutory text of the Head Start Act. 

They were 鈥渋n constant fear of being forced to comply with an unlawful directive and potentially be out of step with their mission and their obligations under the Head Start Act or,鈥� she said, 鈥渢hey risk being punished and losing their funding and even being forced to close.鈥�

鈥業f it weren鈥檛 real life, it would be hilarious鈥�

Morris and her ACLU colleagues first filed the lawsuit last spring on behalf of a number of state Head Start Associations as well as parent organizations. Initially, the complaint challenged the mass layoffs and restructuring of the federal Office of Head Start as well as the DEI ban, alleging all were causing irreparable harm.

In July, they updated the complaint following the Trump administration’s unprecedented move to exclude families from Head Start based on immigration status.

The complaint was again updated after the executive director of a Head Start agency in Wisconsin had her Jan. 1 grant application returned with instructions to remove 19 words and phrases, including 鈥渋nstitutional,鈥� 鈥渉istorically,鈥� 鈥渆quity,鈥� 鈥渂elong鈥� and 鈥減regnant people.鈥� Later that morning, the Office of Head Start followed up with a 鈥渃omplete least of [nearly 200] words鈥� banned from Head Start applications.

In response, senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) issued a Dec. 18 to RFK Jr. expressing 鈥渙utrage.鈥�

鈥淭he chaos you are creating is already jeopardizing services for nearly 700,000 young children across this country,鈥� they wrote, adding that 鈥渢he ambiguous policy was not accompanied by clarification on what the Administration considers 鈥楧EI,鈥� and Head Start programs were left with no meaningful guidance on compliance.鈥�

Ultimately, the Wisconsin provider updated her application to fit this new criteria, but, she wrote in a court record, 鈥渃ompliance is challenging because many of the words on the list are integral to Head Start programming requirements.鈥� The grant application itself, she noted, 鈥渁lready includes some of these prohibited words in pre-populated text 鈥� and application questions specifically request responses that include these words.鈥�

鈥淭his has put me in an impossible situation,鈥� she continued.

Jennie Mauer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, said this grantee was one of three in her state serving roughly 860 young children to have their applications returned this month because of the DEI ban. Another was accused of non-compliance for writing that they would make an effort to 鈥渦tilize small businesses, minority businesses, and women-owned businesses.鈥�

鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 real life, it would be hilarious,鈥� said Mauer. 鈥淭here are things that are in the form like, 鈥楾ell us how you鈥檙e going to serve children with disabilities,鈥� but then you can’t say the word 鈥榙isability.鈥� How do you wrap your head around that? It鈥檚 infuriating. I鈥檓 just wringing my hands over here.鈥�

The latest ruling, she said, 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 necessarily mean that everything is better, but it means that these worst-case scenarios aren’t going to come to fruition,鈥� at least not immediately.

And while she鈥檚 hopeful the government will comply with the judge鈥檚 order, damage has  been done to Head Start communities, she said, leaving program leaders, providers and families worried.

鈥淵ou feel like we’re in this sort of Cold War environment where people are afraid,” she said. 鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 be afraid of your government.鈥�

Note: 社区黑料 replaced two of the photos that ran in an earlier version of this story.

This accounts for close to 10% of all of those served by the early learning programs for lower-income families. 

Due to the timing of federal grants, six Head Start programs serving 6,525 children in Florida, South Carolina and Alabama are already operating without federal funding, the association said. So far, they鈥檝e been able to keep their doors open by drawing on emergency local resources, but that money could soon dry up.  

By Nov. 1, an additional 134 programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico, serving 58,627 children, will face the same fate. In Florida alone, 9,711 Head Start and Early Head Start seats are threatened.

鈥淧rograms are scrambling,鈥� said Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association. 鈥淲e don’t want to see our children become the victims or [get] caught in the crosshairs of these types of political fights.鈥�

Katie Hamm, former deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development under President Joe Biden, called it a significant threat and 鈥渢he latest attack in a series of attacks on Head Start鈥� since President Donald Trump took office for a second time in January.

鈥淲hat we don’t know is who’s going to have to close immediately, but some will,鈥� Hamm told 社区黑料 Friday, noting the damaging impact closures would have on some of the nation鈥檚 most vulnerable children and their families.

Sheridan expressed similar fears: 鈥渓osing that type of routine, which is so critical for young children 鈥� especially young children who have so much going on in their lives 鈥� is really problematic for their development.鈥�

鈥淏eyond that,鈥� he said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to force parents into making some really tough decisions.”

Head Start parents often work multiple jobs, yet still live under the federal poverty line and so are unable to afford other sources of child care and early learning. If the shutdown continues, Sheridan said, some may have to leave the workforce to care for their kids themselves.

The government shutdown has now dragged into its third week, after Senate Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly failed to come to an agreement on a funding bill. Democrats are that have allowed millions of people to access health care since the pandemic, while Republicans say they won鈥檛 negotiate until Congress passes a bill to reopen the government. 

President Donald Trump has with cuts so far, though interruptions to Head Start funding would impact thousands of families across the political spectrum. For example, in alone, just over 3,700 children are in jeopardy of losing services as of Nov. 1.

This has all compounded existing financial strain on local programs, many of which have struggled to hire and retain teachers, according to the national association. It also follows multiple funding threats and deep staffing cuts by the Trump administration that have plunged Head Start programs across the country into chaos and uncertainty this year. 

The administration froze 鈥� then quickly unfroze, then delayed 鈥� grant funding, shuttered five regional offices and fired scores of employees. They also grant recipients that funding would be denied for any programming that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, without defining what that might include 鈥� leading to confusion and a lawsuit. 

Then, in July, the administration announced a drastic federal policy shift that would bar many immigrant families from the early education centers. In September, a Seattle judge ruled that these kids can remain in Head Start programs throughout the country, while a case challenging Trump鈥檚 order makes its way through the courts.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the Office of Head Start, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hamm emphasized that cuts to Head Start services would have a ripple effect across communities, especially rural ones for whom the program may be the only early learning program available as well as a relied-upon contributor to the local economy.

And once a program closes, it can鈥檛 always quickly re-open, as laid off staff may be forced to find employment elsewhere.

鈥淗ead Start is not a light switch,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can’t just turn it off and then two weeks later open it back up.鈥�

Since its inception in the 1960s, Head Start programs have reached and their families, the majority of whom meet federal low-income guidelines. the $12.1 billion program served about 754,800 children from birth to age 5, as well as pregnant mothers and their families in urban, suburban and rural areas in all 50 states and six territories.

They also connect families to community and federal assistance and can help provide a career pathway for parents into early child care and education. The 1,600 local agencies are funded by the federal government, though many also tap into state and local revenue sources.

Historically during shutdowns, Head Start agencies were able to take out loans or dip into reserve funding with confidence that they鈥檇 be reimbursed once the government re-opened. While Hamm said she doesn鈥檛 have any reason to believe this administration will change that policy, 鈥渢he way that they have been targeting certain programs and federal staff is leading people to worry,鈥� including banks that have in the past acted as lenders. 

Compounding this anxiety is a concern around other programs that Head Start families often rely on, such as Medicaid; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.

Despite these hurdles, Sheridan said the Head Start community has really rallied to try and protect and support kids. That being said, the coming challenges are “really disheartening, because children and families should never be put at risk because of political gridlock.鈥�

Newcomer centers opened to ease immigrant students鈥� transition to school? Closed. 

Hiring new English language learner teachers? Suspended.

These are among the tangible effects of the Trump administration’s targeting services and supports that go toward educating more than 5 million English language learners in the nation’s K-12 public schools.

And there are other, more subtle changes: Many newcomer students, in light of the president’s aggressive deportation campaign, are now too afraid to answer simple questions, the type that not only shed light on their lives but give insight into their academic needs. 

鈥淚鈥檓 hesitant to have all the conversations about country of origin 鈥� conversations that celebrate diversity and create a community culture of inclusion 鈥� because now if you ask a kid 鈥榃here are you from鈥� or 鈥榃here were you born鈥� you visually see their walls go up,鈥� said Texas teacher Tammy Ingraham Baggett.

Through multiple directives, the Trump administration has gutted the Education Department, including its Office of English Language Acquisition, leaving it with just . The administration rescinded critical guidance on earlier this year while the president鈥檚 proposed 2026 budget to support multilingual learners in the classroom. 

Alejandra V谩zquez Baur, a fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, and director of the , a coalition of over 150 educators, researchers, and advocates from 35 states, said such cuts would have a 鈥渟ubstantial, devastating impact.鈥�

Her organization joined forces with another group, Immigrant Connections, to ask educators this past summer to describe what would be sacrificed. Oklahoma, which would lose $6.4 million in funding, would no longer be able to meet multilingual learners鈥� needs, education leaders said. 

The state would lose valuable school programs, professional development and family engagement geared toward these students 鈥� including translation and interpretation services. Likewise, Virginia, V谩zquez Baur said, could lose $17.5 million, which would bring about a cascade of cuts, including tutoring for English learners and critical support for students who have gaps in their education. 

鈥淎nd we know when we lose funding for some groups of students, it hurts all students because resources are pushed to the very edge,鈥� she said. 

Teachers whose multilingual learner programs have already been axed are giving away their textbooks online, hoping they could be of use in another location, and some schools have suspended hiring new English learner teachers, unsure of how many students will show up and attend these classes, immigrant student advocates tell 社区黑料. 

Schools could be further hampered in serving these students by the federal government’s recent retreat from its monitoring and oversight role. Without that, V谩zquez Baur said, it’s up to states to hold themselves accountable for meeting their legal obligations to educate these children.

She expressed hope that educators will continue to follow the old directives, even in states that support Trump.

鈥淧olitics have taken over many state legislatures 鈥� including some state agencies 鈥� but at the district level, no matter what state you’re in, people are committed to supporting these students,鈥� she said. 

JoAnne Negr铆n has worked with multilingual learners in New Jersey for much of the past three decades. She’s retired from her full-time post and now serves as a consultant.

Negr铆n said she has worked hard to identify newcomer parents so that they could fill much-needed positions in the school system, their Ukrainian and Spanish language skills in great demand as the local immigrant population increased in recent years. 

鈥淲e were perennially short on classroom aides,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd parents needed jobs to get settled. So, I started helping them through the process and getting aides in every school that needed them. It was a win for all. We solved a staffing issue, the parents got a paycheck, we got school-level language assistance and the kids got to have a parent in the building while they acclimated.鈥�

But Negr铆n worries this effort could be lost: She鈥檚 particularly concerned about a Venezuelan woman and her husband who were recently hired by the district as bilingual math and science teachers. 

鈥淚 spent hours over Zoom helping them sign up for assessments and then walking them through New Jersey certification,鈥� she wrote in a Facebook message. 鈥淎t that point, I told our HR director to make them his first, best offer because they would soon figure out how valuable they are. He brought them in for around $70,000 each. Now, two years later, they own a home, have pets, they鈥檙e part of the community, and they are happy and settled in.鈥�

But it鈥檚 they will be permitted to stay. 

鈥淚 hate this not only for these teachers, but because I don鈥檛 know what the district will do if it loses them,鈥� she said. 

Amy Halsall, a teacher in Indianapolis, said her school has not received funds for professional development so conferences are not being offered 鈥� or educators are required to pay for it themselves. 

鈥淲e normally have funds for supplies and materials and that is on hold,鈥� she said. 鈥淒ue to funding cuts and federal policies where parents have to reveal their status, our district is not offering adult ESL classes. We have to be very creative in how we help.鈥�

And newcomer students to her school are scarce, she said: There were just two this year compared to 10 last year. 

Perhaps the greatest loss to Ingraham Baggett鈥檚 district, she said, was of the newcomer centers, which were, until recently, thriving inside nine of the district鈥檚 12 high schools. 

Each campus served 20 to 50 such students, she said, with 250 total and four to six teachers per site. Ingraham Baggett, the longest-serving biology teacher in the program, piloted the science courses, wrote most of the curriculum materials and led districtwide training sessions throughout the year for her colleagues. 

“This year I got a phone call in August from my principal, two days before going back to school. The entire district had less than 30 high school New Arrival Center program students enrolled,” she said. “They were consolidating the program. All those program teachers had to be reassigned. Only three got to go to the new campus to continue.鈥�

She said many students who qualify for the services refuse to participate, afraid of being identified as new immigrants. 

鈥淭hey鈥檙e declining services to be less easily identified by ICE, which means they鈥檙e missing out on an amazing start to a successful education,鈥� she said. 

Gabrielle Oliveira, an associate professor of education at Harvard, who spent years researching the educational outcomes of immigrant children for her , said every critical program cut, every staff member let go or reassigned represents another lost opportunity for immigrant children as they and their families feel the walls closing in around them. 

School leaders, she notes, are living through a difficult moment. Long established and trusted programs for newcomer students are suddenly politicized, morphing their existence into an unintended statement, an opposition to a president who has frequently 鈥� and educators. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 this slow burn that has been happening,鈥� Oliveira said. 鈥淚t comes in all of these different ways. You start to cut that lifeline. Not only are the programs not available, but the people who are able to tell parents about it, distribute the information, inform them 鈥� that has been the biggest worry.鈥�

The Trump administration says it will withhold some federal funding from Chicago Public Schools over an initiative to improve outcomes for Black students and guidelines allowing transgender students to play sports and use facilities based on the gender with which they identify.

Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary of civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education, saying his office has found CPS violated anti-discrimination laws and will lose grant dollars through the Magnet School Assistance Program. The district, with a budget of roughly $10.2 billion, has a five-year, $15 million Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant it received last year.

The feds are demanding that the district abolish and issue a statement saying it will require students to compete in sports or use locker rooms and bathroom facilities based on their biological sex at birth, among other demands.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

However, Illinois law conflicts on both fronts, putting CPS in a difficult position. The state that outlines compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Law, including that schools must allow transgender students access to facilities that correspond to their gender identity. Separately, an Illinois law passed in 2024 and plan for serving Black students.

Chicago Public Schools said Wednesday in an emailed statement that it 鈥渄oes not comment on ongoing investigations.鈥� Previously, its leaders have said that the Black Students Success Plan is a priority to address longstanding academic and discipline disparities that Black students face. They have in defiance of the Trump administration鈥檚 crackdown on race-based initiatives.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said earlier this year that if it takes federal funding away from CPS because of the district鈥檚 diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. His office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In response to earlier this year, the Education Department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into the Black Student Success Plan, which sets goals to double the number of male Black teachers, reduce Black student suspensions, and teach Black history in more classrooms. Trainor said in his department鈥檚 interpretation, the initiative runs afoul of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year banning the consideration of race in college admissions by offering added support to Black students and teachers exclusively.

鈥淭his is textbook racial discrimination, and no justification proffered by CPS can overcome the patent illegality of its racially exclusionary plan,鈥� he wrote.

The OCR also of CPS, the Illinois State Board of Education, and suburban Deerfield Public School District 109 to look into their policies on transgender students using facilities and participating in school sports. Trainor said Chicago鈥檚 Guidelines Regarding the Support of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students violate Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education.

District officials told Chalkbeat recently that the members of a new school board Black Student Achievement Committee tasked with overseeing the plan鈥檚 rollout will be unveiled later this month.

Stacy Davis Gates, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, issued a statement decrying the federal move to withhold funds from CPS and saying the district will stay the course.

鈥淲e will not back down,鈥� she said in the statement. 鈥淲e will not apologize. Our duty is to our students, and no amount of political bullying will shake our commitment to them.鈥�

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

The decision came just a day after another U.S. district court judge in Rhode Island granted a that offered similar protections to preschoolers That ruling also means undocumented residents can still access adult and career and technical education and won’t be cut off from a range of federally funded emergency services, including for domestic violence and homelessness.

Linda Morris, an ACLU attorney representing the plaintiffs in the Washington state case, said she was elated by the decision, noting its sweeping scope. 

鈥淭his is an incredible victory, especially for Head Start providers and Head Start children and families,鈥� she said. 鈥淭oday’s ruling makes clear that every child, no matter their immigration status, deserves access to early educational support. We are extremely pleased with the court鈥檚 decision.鈥� 

In issuing the national injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez strongly rebuked the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees Head Start and funds 80% of its costs, for changing a longstanding legal interpretation and classifying it for the first time as a federal public benefit. 

Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for these supports, including food assistance and non-emergency Medicaid. The move to restrict Head Start access is part of a wider Trump administration effort to exclude the undocumented from all taxpayer-funded services and programs, including several that involve education and job training.

The ruling restores Head Start eligibility to children and families who have student visas and other temporary statuses and were also excluded by HHS鈥檚 . The move affected the eligibility of more than 500,000 kids, according to the agency鈥檚 own analysis, and impacted approximately 115,000 children currently enrolled in the program.

Andrew Nixon, the HHS communications director, said Friday his office disagrees with the injunctions and is evaluating next steps. 

Head Start associations from four states and two parent and caregiver groups sued the agency and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the Washington case. 

Joel Ryan is executive director of one of , the.

鈥淚 feel relief. I feel like people can breathe a little bit more,鈥� said Ryan, whose organization’s other legal claims against the administration are focused on confusion over its anti-diversity, equity and inclusion mandates and the mass firings of Head Start staff.

Martinez rejected the Trump administration鈥檚 assertion that Head Start is a welfare program because it provides other means of support, including meals. Public schools do the same and no one would argue they are not educational in nature, he wrote. 

鈥淧roviding services such as health care, nutrition and other social services does not make Head Start non-educational but, as the Head Start Act states, 鈥榩romotes the school readiness of low-income children by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development,鈥欌�� he wrote, noting, too, that Head Start funds do not provide payments of benefits to individual households or families. 

In court Tuesday, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Micheal Velchik tried to parse the degree of learning and instruction that takes place in Head Start from what鈥檚 taught at the K-12 level.听

“It’s technically not school or education because it’s preschool. It’s what you do before school and so it’s not really education in that sense,” said Velchik, who mistakenly referred to the program as Head First several times.

Jannesa Calvo-Friedman, the plaintiffs鈥� attorney, said undocumented parents, families of mixed immigration status and others with full legal standing but who lack documentation told Head Start operators they were keeping their kids away out of fear or confusion.

鈥淭he children who are losing education at this time [in their lives] can never get it back,鈥� Calvo-Friedman said, citing studies on the critical nature of early learning. 鈥淯nless the directive is stayed or enjoined, defendants will continue to communicate the message that immigrant families need not apply.鈥�

Martinez agreed that allowing the directive to go into effect while the underlying case was being argued would impose imminent and irreparable harm.

鈥淲hile actual loss of funding from under enrollment might be down the road, families losing access to Head Start due to the Directive鈥檚 unclear guidance and chilling effects appears anything but speculative and exists even prior to enforcement,鈥� he notes.  

The judge expressed disbelief at the government’s contention that implementing the restriction immediately would discourage illegal immigration.

鈥淭he Court is floored by this argument,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淣othing on the record provides any means for this Court to infer that access to Head Start 鈥榠ncentivizes鈥� illegal immigration.鈥�

Head Start was established in 1965 to help improve kindergarten readiness for low-income children and to support their families. It has served young learners  and their families in the 60 years since. 

In a released today, the foundation and its offshoot, , scored state education departments on whether and how they define immigrant students, collect and report data on their educational progress and fund programs that support them. 

They assigned grades to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based upon their findings: None won a mark above a C+. Forty-two states 鈥媠cored between C- and D- and five 鈥斅燗labama, Arkansas, Delaware, Montana and West Virginia 鈥斅爀arned an F.

The results come as the Trump administration continues to zero in on this vulnerable student population as part of its multibillion-dollar immigration crackdown: Young people have been arrested, detained 鈥� in the case of one Los Angeles teen this month, at gunpoint 鈥� and deported. 

The federal government also recently directing schools to accommodate English learners. Immigrant advocates are pleading with state lawmakers to push back by showing their support for these students and better preparing teachers to meet their needs.

鈥淲e are witnessing a sinister daily attack on our immigrant neighbors from a federal government bent on stripping immigrants鈥� access to work, health care, educational opportunities, and even their sense of safety,” said report co-author Alejandra V谩zquez Baur, a foundation fellow who heads its National Newcomer Network. 鈥淎ll students show up with a twinkle in their eye, excited to learn 鈥� newcomers included 鈥� and states need to do more to support them.”

The Century Foundation, founded as the Co-operative League in 1919, recommends states develop specific and consistent definitions for this population, which includes refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors and migratory children. 

In an effort to better serve this diverse and largely growing student body 鈥� there are more than inside the nation鈥檚 K-12 public schools 鈥� agencies must also collect and publish data on key indicators about their educational experiences, including years in the United States, English proficiency, home language, prior schooling and academic outcomes. Such data points might include school engagement, participation in clubs and sports and any behavioral issues that could arise in school, the foundation concludes.

State education agencies should use the data to inform funding formulas, the report recommends, and to create a newcomer-specific funding structure that supplements federal money. This additional aid should provide support for students in their first few critical years in the public schools system, “with transparent reporting on its use and impact.”

The report highlights the scattershot nature of data collection across the country: 17 states collect no discernable data on immigrant students at all. Twenty-two compile such information to determine eligibility and maintain compliance with federal earmarked for English learners. 

Eight states collect data that might include newcomers, but it isn鈥檛 differentiated or used to determine how supports are allocated. Only four have clear definitions of the term 鈥渘ewcomer鈥� and consistently collect robust data about these children. 

requires all districts to submit what it calls Recent Arrivers data and uses the information for federal reporting and to allocate Title III funds, according to the analysis. collects disaggregated immigrant student data annually and later divides it by subgroup, while state, according to the researchers, requires districts to track all eligible English learners in their student information systems and report key data points like birth country and U.S. school enrollment date. 

But outdoes them all, the study shows: It publicly reports disaggregated English learner data by year, including counts and percentages of immigrant, refugee and migrant students, among other groups, and breaks down this data by district, home language and ethnicity. The state, population , had less than residents in 2023. Nearly 84% were of working age. 

鈥淭his is exemplary,鈥� the report notes of North Dakota鈥檚 approach, adding it allows for a clearer understanding of the diverse needs within this student population and supports targeted interventions for many children, including those with limited or interrupted formal education.

The report cites the unevenness of young immigrants’ educational experience, as they sometimes move between districts striving for stable housing. 

鈥淲hen these programs differ across district lines within a state, this group of often highly mobile marginalized students may not qualify for comparable services when they move, and their new schools may not receive the resources they need to properly serve them,鈥� the report reads. 鈥淪tate education agencies have the unique opportunity to address these inconsistencies to best support all students, including newcomers.鈥�

English learners nationally had a , as of the 2019-20 school year, compared to the 86% national average.  

At a moment when anti-immigrant fervor was beginning to build in this country, 社区黑料 last year tested the enrollment practices of more than 600 high schools, attempting to register a 19-year-old newcomer who spoke little English and whose education had been interrupted. More than 300 schools refused to register him 鈥� including 204 denials in the 35 states and the District of Columbia where high school attendance goes up to at least age 20.

V谩zquez Baur said newcomer students are here to stay and their presence predates the laws guaranteeing them educational access, including the 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe. The quality of their education, she said, will determine not only their opportunity but the health and well-being of their communities.

鈥淣ewcomers students are in our classrooms regardless of what our president says,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are valuable neighbors and students. They become valuable leaders in their communities. Especially at this moment, it is the states that are on the front line against the federal government.鈥�

The 14th Amendment has long been interpreted to guarantee the right of citizenship to nearly all children born on U.S. soil. Three district courts concluded Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order taking away that right was likely unlawful and issued universal preliminary injunctions barring the order from taking effect.

In a 6-3 vote Friday, the high court鈥檚 conservative majority found the lower court judges overstepped. 

鈥淲hen a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too,” reads the majority opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. 

The court ruled that Trump鈥檚 birthright order would not go into effect for 30 days. During that time, the possibility exists that the plaintiffs could successfully reargue for another nationwide injunction under the new rules set by the Supreme Court. But if they fail, birthright citizenship may no longer be automatic in the 28 states that have not challenged the president鈥檚 directive.

Trump, appearing in the White House briefing room Friday, said 鈥渢he Supreme Court has delivered , the separation of powers and the rule of law.鈥� 

The decision does not address the constitutionality of Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship, considered settled  law for nearly 160 years. But it comes at a time when the president is aggressively trying to extend his powers through a barrage of executive orders that now can no longer be as forcefully blocked across the country by a single federal judge who deems them unlawful or unconstitutional. Judges have issued since Trump took office for a second term in January, the Associated Press reported.

It also coincides with the administration鈥檚 far-reaching and controversial immigration enforcement campaign that has targeted and swept up those without secure legal status, including students. Educators and advocates are particularly concerned about the fate of young children. 

鈥淭he timing could not be worse, with increased ICE activity across the country,” said Adam Strom, executive director of Re-Imagining Migration. “As educators, this makes our jobs even harder. When you fear that your citizenship can be taken away, it’s very hard to learn.”

The ruling came just days after the Supreme Court decided on Monday to to countries other than those in which they were born. Immigrant advocates say both decisions run counter to core American values. 

David C. Baluarte, CUNY School of Law professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs, said if Trump is able to implement his birthright order, some children born in the United States to undocumented parents or those temporarily in the U.S. would be in great jeopardy.

鈥淭hat means they will be an undocumented immigrant here, and everywhere, in perpetuity 鈥� or unless they can convince some country to give them citizenship,鈥� Baluarte said.

Walter Olson, senior fellow at the right-of-center Cato Institute, said now is a 鈥減articularly bad鈥� time for the high court to weaken a critical means to check the power of a 鈥渟cofflaw administration.鈥� 

Olson said the president, through this particular directive, signaled from the outset of his second term that he was seeking to be 鈥渧ery radical鈥� in his authority. He said the birthright issue was a remarkable choice because it was not at all up for debate. 

鈥淭he law was very clear on behalf of birthright citizenship,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淪o, the executive order deserved the immediate unpopularity and outrage that came with it. It鈥檚 settled law.鈥� 

reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Trump argued it 鈥渉as always excluded鈥� people born in the United States but not 鈥渟ubject to the jurisdiction thereof,鈥� including those whose mother was unlawfully present in the country and whose father was not a citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of the child鈥檚 birth. 

This same restriction applies to those children born to mothers whose presence in the U.S.听 is lawful but temporary, including those visiting under the Visa Waiver Program or on a student, work or tourist visa 鈥� if the father is also not a citizen or lawful permanent resident, Trump contends.

Margo Schlanger, law professor and director of the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse at the University of Michigan Law School, said the Supreme Court left open three pathways through which the lower courts can block nationwide policies by the Trump administration they believe to be unlawful.

The first is through a lawsuit filed against the government by a state. The second involves a nationwide class action lawsuit, which can be cumbersome, complicated and time consuming: It鈥檚 often difficult to prove any group of people have enough in common to constitute a class. The third would allow a lower court to 鈥渟et aside鈥� a rule it deems unlawful under the . 

Schlanger notes that every one of the three remaining pathways has 鈥渕ajor鈥� procedural obstacles. She predicts that the state plaintiffs will go back to their district courts and argue that even under these new Supreme Court rules, they still have grounds for a nationwide injunction because that is the only way to guarantee complete relief from an unlawful executive order. 

At the same time, she said, in one or more of the other cases, private plaintiffs might try to expand to a class. Both or either type of case could land the issue back before the Supreme Court 鈥� not for procedural arguments, but to decide the issue on its merits. 

鈥淚 don鈥檛 expect the Trump administration would win at that point,鈥� Schlanger said. 鈥淲hat they were doing is using this case as an opportunity to restrict the authority of the non-Supreme Court federal courts.鈥� 

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Friday鈥檚 decision leaves Americans with one less tool to fight an 鈥渙ut-of-control鈥� executive branch. 

鈥淭oday, the justices have kneecapped the lower courts鈥� ability to protect Americans from Trump鈥檚 most pernicious policy abuses, making it far more difficult to resolve key questions by requiring additional litigation,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淧eople need courts to protect them from this or any other administration wreaking havoc on our nation鈥檚 laws and Americans鈥� lives.鈥�

Carter was in first grade when the suspensions began. His mom describes it as the year 鈥渁ll hell broke loose.鈥�

As he made his way through the public school system in York County, South Carolina, the now-15-year-old, who has multiple disabilities, continued to struggle.

The situation reached a crescendo in 6th grade, when Carter was suspended out of school for 7.5 days and in school about a dozen times, according to school district records and his mother鈥檚 estimates. This was in addition to numerous lunch suspensions 鈥� during which he was forced to sit at a table alone in the cafeteria 鈥� and bus suspensions, which meant Carter couldn鈥檛 ride school-provided transportation. His offenses, Kimberly Tissot, his mom, said, ranged from minor ones,  like 鈥渋ncessant talking鈥� and 鈥渃ussing,鈥� to the more extreme, including breaking one classmate鈥檚 glasses and threatening another.

While Tissot understands why these behaviors needed to result in clear consequences, she argued that every one of them was a manifestation of her son鈥檚 disabilities, which include ADHD, fetal alcohol syndrome, a disability involving written expression and a mild intellectual disability. They could have been avoided, she said, if Carter鈥檚 school had followed his Individualized Education Program, which lays out the supports and services the school is legally mandated to provide Carter so he can progress and learn.

Ultimately, her son, who has difficulty connecting his actions to their ramifications, was left confused and convinced, 鈥渉e鈥檚 in trouble because he鈥檚 bad,鈥� said Tissot, who is also the president and CEO of , an advocacy organization. 

Carter is one of hundreds of thousands of students with disabilities across the country who are suspended from school each year. It鈥檚 long been documented that this population of kids is generally more likely to face exclusionary discipline , but because of where he happens to live, Carter is particularly susceptible: No state removes students with disabilities from school for 10 days or fewer at a higher rate than South Carolina.

There, some 15% of special education students faced out-of-school suspensions for up to 10 days in the 2022-23 school year 鈥� nearly twice the national average, according to 社区黑料鈥檚 analysis of the most recently available data.

These numbers may also be a substantial undercount, according to experts who told 社区黑料 they鈥檝e witnessed widespread in South Carolina 鈥� in some cases to avoid the legal protections that kick in for students with disabilities once they鈥檝e been kept out of the classroom for more than 10 cumulative days. Tissot said she was asked to pick Carter up from school without an official suspension on multiple occasions, a practice she knew to push back on only because of her advocacy work. And she said she only learned of some of Carter鈥檚 in-school suspensions, which weren鈥檛 all officially documented, from him.

Macaulay Morrison is assistant director of a at the University of South Carolina Law School who represents special education families in their legal battles with schools.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just reflective of the state of public education of South Carolina as a whole,鈥� Morrison said of the IDEA suspension data. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 easier for schools to exclude these students than it is for them to figure out how to support them.鈥�

In response to 社区黑料鈥檚 findings, a South Carolina Department of Education official said they remain 鈥渃ommitted to ensuring that all students, including those receiving special education services, are supported in safe and positive learning environments.鈥�

The department has established a goal of working with districts to reduce suspension rates for students with disabilities to 9% or less 鈥� significantly lower than its current rate, but still higher than the national average 鈥� by working with advocacy and support groups, like the Behavior Alliance of South Carolina, to provide conferences, institutes and training opportunities.

And the department will continue to 鈥渃losely monitor student discipline data to track progress toward this target 鈥� including assisting with district reviews of disciplinary referral data, revision of policies and procedures, and the development of targeted improvement plans at both the school and district levels.鈥�

South Carolina was the only state whose numbers were not broken down by race after state officials notified the U.S. Department of Education of data quality concerns, according to federal Education Department staff. The South Carolina state education department official told 社区黑料 that they provided corrected data once they were made aware of the issue, but that update was not reflected in the final federal dataset. 

The federal Department of Education did not respond to repeated requests for comment from 社区黑料.

The IDEA dataset is particularly significant because it鈥檚 the first to document disciplinary rates among students with disabilities at the national level post-pandemic, a time when . The U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 more frequently scrutinized has long shown disparities in discipline between students with disabilities and their general education peers but the most current available complete numbers are from the 2021-22 school year 鈥� when most kids were back to in-person learning but some districts were still offering a hybrid model and still others were allowing kids to

社区黑料’s analysis of the more recent IDEA data of some 7.5 million students with disabilities across three suspension categories reveals the differences experienced within this vulnerable student group. For example, in addition to South Carolina, special education students living in North Carolina, Delaware and Nevada are far more likely to be excluded from school than students with similar disabilities living in Vermont, Utah and New York.  

The IDEA data, which is released annually, shows that race 鈥� also a well-established to suspensions 鈥� plays a role among students who are already facing disproportionate discipline. While Black students made up 16% of all students with disabilities nationally, they accounted for nearly a third (31%) of all those students suspended out of school for 10 days or less. 

In some cases, race and geography combined in striking ways in the IDEA data, such as in Nebraska, where almost 1-in-10 Black students with disabilities were removed from school for more than 10 days (a figure which includes in-school and out-of-school disciplinary removals) in 2022-23 鈥� more than any other group in any other state.

Other key findings of the 社区黑料鈥檚 analysis include:

• Nationally, boys are more likely than girls to be identified as having a disability, and 鈥� even when that鈥檚 considered 鈥� are disproportionately removed from classrooms: While about two-thirds of students with disabilities are male, they account for about 75% of special education students removed from school for any duration of time.

• On average nationally, just over 7% of all students with disabilities received at least one out-of-school suspension for 10 days or fewer.

• Black students with disabilities are disproportionately suspended out of school for 10 days or less in every state, to varying degrees. In Georgia, for example, they make up 39% of those with disabilities, but 59% of those who were suspended. In Delaware, Black students make up just over a third of those with disabilities, but over half of those suspended.  In five states (Indiana, Nevada, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin), at least 20% of Black students were suspended out of school for 10 days or fewer. 

• In both West Virginia and Pennsylvania, almost 1-in-10 Hispanic children with disabilities were suspended for 10 days or less outside of school 鈥� more than any other state for this group, though closely followed by Nevada, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

• In South Dakota, 17% of students with disabilities who identified as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander were suspended for 10 days or less in school 鈥� a greater share than in any other state.

• California suspends students with disabilities for 10 days or fewer in school at the lowest rate (0.8%), and Vermont suspends them out of school at the lowest rate (3%).
  
• No state removes students for more than 10 days at a higher rate than Missouri (4%), 2.5 times the national average.

While supporters of stricter school discipline argue suspensions and expulsions are necessary to keep schools safe, research also shows that these measures are associated with a host of negative outcomes, including , and a lower likelihood of and greater involvement with the

exclusionary discipline, which children with disabilities are more frequently subjected to, does not seem to positively impact students鈥� future behavior and, for younger students, may even exacerbate it. 

For students with disabilities, the loss of instruction time can be particularly devastating, said Amy Holbert, CEO of , a training and information center for families whose children have disabilities. And especially when students receive out-of-school suspensions, it can put a strain on working families who suddenly have to scramble to find child care, she added.

These challenges have only worsened since the pandemic, according to Holbert, who said referrals to her organization for educational concerns have increased 128% since 2020.

社区黑料’s data analysis confirms “what advocates across the country have been saying over and over again about the students most likely to experience school pushout and get deprived of access to instructional time,鈥� said Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of .听

It holds up an 鈥渋mportant mirror鈥� she added, 鈥渙n who is getting appropriate interventions and who are the students that we still collectively need to do better by.鈥�

鈥楾he Wild Wild West of civil rights enforcement鈥�

Keisha Sims-Williams鈥� son, Savion, was just 2 years old when she began to suspect he might have a disability. He was hyperactive and impulsive. Sometimes she鈥檇 call his name and he wouldn鈥檛 respond. And he would often walk on the tips of his toes 鈥� a characteristic more common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Some of these behaviors made starting school particularly challenging. 

Sims-Williams said she told Savion鈥檚 Columbia, South Carolina, school as early as pre-K that he would need extra help. But instead of having him evaluated for an IEP they repeatedly removed him from school 鈥� both formally and informally 鈥� and ultimately relocated him to a transitional program, though not one for students with disabilities, she said. 

鈥淗is pre-K year it got so bad, he was out of school more than he was in,鈥� she said, estimating Savion was suspended for at least 30 days that year. 

Ultimately, Savion was diagnosed with ADHD and autism by clinicians outside of school, but still he wasn鈥檛 evaluated for an IEP, which meant he went through his kindergarten year without the same protections around school removals as other students with disabilities. 

As a kid with a suspected disability, though, he should have still had access to at least some of those guardrails, according to Morrison, the South Carolina attorney, who later filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Sims-Williams family.

And so, Savion had another year filled with so many removals his mom lost count. 

鈥淎t some point it was like they were on a mission to get rid of him,鈥� she said.

In November of his kindergarten year, Sims-Williams filed a formal written request for an in-school evaluation, but his IEP wasn鈥檛 developed until May or implemented until the following August.

鈥淚t took two years of me fighting and pleading in order for him to finally get an IEP and be heard and seen as he should,鈥� Sims-Williams said. She believes if that IEP had come along sooner, her son鈥檚 early years in school could have looked a lot different.

鈥淣o child’s experiences in their education should have been as bad as my son鈥檚,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hey ruined his good years of school. They ruined it.鈥�

Much of this was confirmed by the state’s response to the family’s lawsuit. The South Carolina Department of Education found that the district had violated a number of Savion’s rights as a student with a suspected disability 鈥� including by not evaluating him for an IEP in a timely manner and not officially recording removals or creating a behavior plan once he hit 10 days of removals. These failures ultimately led to even more suspensions, according to court records shared with 社区黑料.

Since extra supports were implemented, school has been significantly better for Savion. He鈥檚 been on honor roll, won awards and no longer cries when she drops him off each morning.

Still, 鈥渉e鈥檚 had some bumps here and there,鈥� she said, noting the now-7-year-old was suspended out of school for about eight days throughout first grade, but 鈥渃ompared to 20 or 30, that鈥檚 progress to me.鈥�

鈥淚’m hoping next year we鈥檙e down to five. Or none.鈥�

Savion鈥檚 race, gender and disability status all make him particularly likely to be suspended, as does the fact that his family also lives in South Carolina. The Palmetto State leads the nation in , as well.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides protections to students who have been removed from school for more than 10 days, but much of the enforcement is left up to schools, districts and states, leading to a patchwork landscape, according to interviews with over two dozen advocates, experts, parents and attorneys. 

鈥淪chools don’t seem to have any incentive to improve their processes and procedures because there isn’t anybody holding them to task,鈥� said Mike Mathison, a juvenile justice resource attorney at the Children鈥檚 Law Center at the University of South Carolina Law School.

And in certain cases 鈥� like Savion鈥檚 鈥� even if a student has a documented disability, it can be challenging to get schools to provide an IEP in a timely manner, leaving vulnerable kids unprotected. 

The disproportionate removal of students with disabilities 鈥� especially for boys and those who are Black 鈥� experts told 社区黑料 is the result of a confluence of systemic issues including discrimination, teacher and school counselor shortages and a dearth of training in positive behavior management techniques, like establishing strong relationships with students and clear routines. Added to that are administrators not understanding or enforcing students’ IEPs or the law, parents not knowing their kids鈥� rights, a return to top-down “zero tolerance” disciplinary policies and a lack of federal accountability.

This trend of disproportionality is well established: In the 2017-18 school year, 9% of students with disabilities were suspended, compared to 4% of their general education peers, according to a 2022 from the Learning Policy Institute 鈥� largely based on analyses of four years of Civil Rights Data Collection. For Black students with disabilities, that figure was even higher: 20% were suspended. 

Students with disabilities are also more likely than their peers to be punished for 鈥渂road and subjective categories鈥� of behavior like defiance, according to a 2024 investigation by  .

鈥淭here’s disadvantages of being Black when it comes to disciplinary outcomes, and there’s a disadvantage of being a student with a disability as well,鈥� said Richard Welsh, associate professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt University and author of 鈥淵ou can times that together 鈥� and that’s the definition of intersectionality.鈥�

While disparities are cause for closer inspection 鈥� and can be evidence of discrimination 鈥� they alone are not proof of bias, cautioned Paul Morgan, director of the at the University of Albany. That being said, he added, even when controlling for differences in behaviors, Black students appear to be more frequently suspended than their peers. And a recent GAO report determined that Black girls are more likely to be removed from class than their white female peers for similar behaviors in the same schools.

Regardless of whether or not active discrimination is at play, the disparities are at least 鈥渁 sign of weak systemic practices鈥� and 鈥渁 call to action,鈥� said Coco, from The Center for Learner Equity.

Despite this, in April, President Donald Trump released an saying he intended to roll back Biden administration discipline guidance, which encouraged school districts to collect, analyze and adjust their policies in light of disproportionate racial outcomes. Trump argued that approach actually weaponized federal civil rights laws in ways that discriminated against white students.

Critics have the executive order, titled Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline, will only further widen disparities for students of color and students with disabilities, especially as  more than consider a return to stricter student discipline policies, including four that have already done so. 

鈥淐ommon sense is students in school every day learning, and students can’t learn if they’re not in school,鈥� Coco said. 鈥淚 recognize we need to keep schools safe, so to me a common sense investment is saying, 鈥楬ow do we ensure that schools are a place where students are getting access to what they need to thrive and be successful, both in terms of education and wraparound supports?鈥欌��

Trump has also been systematically working to dismantle the Education Department, which could mean even less federal accountability and data collection moving forward, said Dan Losen, senior director of education at the National Center for Youth Law.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the Wild Wild West of civil rights enforcement,鈥� he said.

A 鈥榟uge oversight鈥� in IDEA enforcement

The federal law defining the rights of students with disabilities was first passed in 1975 and then updated and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990. IDEA mandates a 鈥渇ree appropriate public school education鈥� for eligible students ages 3-21. In the 2022-23 school year that included or 15% of all those attending public schools 鈥� a two percentage-point increase from the 6.4 million students covered under IDEA a decade ago. The federal guidelines provide baseline regulations that states must follow, but some 鈥� like New Jersey 鈥� have implemented stronger protections as well. 

Under IDEA, states must submit annual data about students who receive special education and related services to the Education Department, including the data analyzed by 社区黑料.

And the law provides certain protections around disciplinary removals: If a student with a disability is removed from their classroom for more than 10 days, IDEA mandates a process called a Manifestation Determination Review, a hearing during which a group 鈥� including the parents and the student鈥檚  IEP team 鈥� meets to determine if the child鈥檚 behaviors were either related to their disability or the result of a failure to implement their IEP. 

If the answer to either of these questions is 鈥測es,鈥� the school can鈥檛 move forward with the removal and has to instead make a plan to provide updated support.

Experts and parents told 社区黑料 that once a student is diagnosed with a disability, schools tend to become particularly cautious about hitting that 10-day mark and triggering the legal review process. In some cases, that means educators pay closer attention to implementing a student鈥檚 IEP. But, in others, schools attempt to skirt the system by suspending students 鈥渙ff-the-books.鈥� 

And when schools do implement the hearing process, they don鈥檛 always do so thoroughly or with intention, sometimes just 鈥渄oing [it] to check the box,鈥� said Morrison, the South Carolina attorney.

A recent , for example, found that New York City鈥檚 public schools routinely flout these federal guidelines by not properly considering a student鈥檚 disability during hearings. 

It can be challenging to hold schools and districts accountable for faithfully implementing these hearings, since the federal government isn鈥檛 collecting data around them, according to Losen, from the National Center for Youth Law.

鈥淔or monitoring the enforcement of these supposedly important protections, we don鈥檛 get to see any of that data,鈥� he said. 鈥淣othing. And I think that鈥檚 a huge oversight.鈥� 

Carter, the South Carolina student suspended multiple times throughout his school career, is now leading his own IEP meetings and learning to control his behaviors, his mother told 社区黑料. 

Tissot said he made it through the past school year without any suspensions 鈥� a first for him 鈥� and this fall he鈥檒l start high school. His mom describes the teenager as a sweet, talkative kid who loves to try new foods 鈥� 鈥淗e鈥檚 a little foodie!鈥� 鈥� play video games and make people laugh.

While Tissot is proud of Carter鈥檚 progress, she also worries he鈥檚 still not where he needs to be academically, and his history of repeated suspensions has heightened his anxiety at school. 

鈥淗e has told me that he tries so hard to control himself that he鈥檚 unable to concentrate,鈥� she said.

And she worries for other students with disabilities who don鈥檛 have the same resources Carter has 鈥� like a mom who鈥檚 an advocate in the field 鈥� a fear that鈥檚 only intensified under the Trump administration.

鈥淭he future is not looking good for kids with disabilities who require IEPs,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very scary because they鈥檙e taking away the federal oversight right now so really relying on parents to enforce it. And, I mean, that鈥檚 not going to work at all.鈥�

Speaking at a press conference at LAUSD headquarters, Carvalho also said the district would offer transportation to graduation events, shorten lines outside venues, and provide temporary shelter for attendees in case of immigration action by ICE at or near graduation venues.

The district was examining steps it could take to ensure immigrant students can participate in summer school classes that start next week without threat of arrest, including expanded busing and more virtual classes, Carvalho said.

鈥淥ur schools are places of education and inspiration, not fear and intimidation,鈥� Carvalho said. 鈥淢any of us here are immigrants or children of immigrants.鈥�   

The actions come as the Trump administration has ramped up actions against immigrant students across the country. 

More than 100 graduation-related events are scheduled across L.A. schools on Monday and Tuesday, which is the last day of class before LAUSD lets out for summer break.

Carvalho, who is a Portuguese immigrant and outspoken critic of the immigration policies of President Donald Trump, said some L.A. families were afraid to attend graduation ceremonies, fearful they could be targeted by federal immigration agents. 

He said schools and families remain on high alert after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in L.A. last week arrested in raids across the city.

The federal immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles last week included arrests at local businesses, but not at schools, and prompted widespread and sometimes violent protests that began on Friday and continued through Monday, with dozens of arrests.

LAUSD does not track students鈥� immigration status. According to the city鈥檚 teachers鈥� union the district immigrant students, and a quarter of those students are undocumented. 

LA Immigrant families have grown more concerned as the Trump administration has stepped up immigration crackdowns in L.A. and beyond.  

In April, federal immigration agents were denied access to two LAUSD elementary schools after the agents sought to contact five students at those schools, who were identified by federal authorities as minors who arrived unaccompanied at the border.

Carvalho said he has instructed LAUSD school police to “intervene” against any ICE agents who may be attempting immigration enforcement at school graduation events, but he declined to provide additional details.

鈥淓very single graduation site is a protected site,鈥� Carvalho said. 鈥淚 have directed our own police force to redouble their efforts and establish perimeters of safety around graduation sites, [and] to interfere, intervene and interfere with any federal agency who may want to take action.鈥�

He said he had spoken with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom about the actions he was taking. Reps for Bass and Newsom didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment. 

Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, also didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment.   

The LAUSD school board, Newsom and Bass have all backed Carvalho in standing against federal immigration enforcement. The LAUSD school board has issued a series of resolutions stating that for immigrant students.

Carvalho said on Monday that last week two ICE vehicles were spotted near two LAUSD elementary schools. The ICE agents didn鈥檛 visit the schools, Carcalho said, but they did frighten the children inside. 

鈥淣o action has been taken, but we interpret those actions as actions of intimidation, instilling fear that may lead to self deportation,鈥� said Carvalho. 鈥淭hat is not the community we want to be. That is not the state or the nation that we ought to be.鈥�

And yet, we have reached what is perhaps a zenith in Trump-era politics of . The administration鈥檚 response to America鈥檚 youth crisis has been stunningly consistent: again and again, it has balanced occasional, to do something to address or on the one hand with real and stunningly on the other.听

Perhaps the most direct and comprehensive assault on children is coming through the administration鈥檚 war on Head Start. , it鈥檚 the federal government鈥檚 largest-single investment in early learning, and it . Over its 60 years, Head Start has provided high-quality early learning as well as connecting around and their families to health and dental care, nutrition and housing assistance. 

During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump echoed the Heritage Foundation鈥檚 Project 2025 playbook in . This was hardly novel: though Head Start has long enjoyed bipartisan support, a subset of , and have spent decades attacking the program. 

While the administration鈥檚 chaotic first 100 days of the federal supporting health and well-being, its attacks on Head Start have been uniquely unpredictable. , as Elon Musk and his underlings at the Department of Government Efficiency hacked away at the federal civil service, Head Start providers across the country reported that they were unable to access their normally scheduled federal payments. This posed a particular challenge for Head Start center directors navigating the tight margins that define the early education market; hundreds of early care and learning centers warned that they were at risk of closure. 

Later in the spring, the administration abruptly that offer resources, support and oversight for Head Start providers. 

Several weeks ago, it appeared that the administration was preparing to act more decisively to abandon U.S. kids and families who depend on Head Start. On April 17, the indicating that the Trump administration would erase Head Start funding in its forthcoming budget proposal. Once this hit the news, Head Start supporters to save the program, and the administration . 

While it appears that the administration isn鈥檛 (yet) ready to deliver on this promised assault on children鈥檚 well-being, it鈥檚 worth reminding ourselves just what a stunning mistake it would be to reduce this particular investment in U.S. kids and families. 

Head Start has been studied many times, and the results are broadly positive. Research on it 鈥� and other early education programs 鈥� finds a relatively consistent pattern:

• Early education programs are reliably good for families and at preparing kids for kindergarten
  
• There’s some waning of positive academic impacts as kids go through K-12
  
• But the long-term impacts of early ed investments are generally positive.听

First, at helping children from historically marginalized communities. Perhaps most importantly in the present political context, early education programs tend to promote better child development outcomes that create cost savings for school budgets. This mostly results from pre-K programs like the likelihood that children will later require special education services or need to repeat a grade. 

For instance, economist Tim Bartik notes that studies show possible of 鈥�23 to 86 percent.鈥�   Meanwhile, if a child repeats second (or any) grade, the public pays an additional year of per-pupil funding, and it also delays their entry into the workforce. As such, and keep students on track for college and career is a efficient . Finally, early education programs like Head Start are a boon for working families because get after having a child. 

Most encouraging of all, Head Start appears to create some long-term positive effects. In 2022, the children of Head Start participants garnered benefits like higher high school graduation and college attainment rates, lower rates of teen pregnancy and reduced rates of interaction with the criminal justice system.

For instance, often point to the federal , which gathered data on programs in the early 2000s. It largely found that Head Start had positive initial effects on children鈥檚 development, but that these effects 鈥渇aded out鈥� as kids worked their way into the K鈥�12 education system. But prompted a field of its findings in the 2010s, with concluding that it meaningfully Head Start鈥檚 to . 

This begs some critical questions about how the public should measure 鈥渟uccess鈥� for Head Start. Begin here: nearly every study of nearly every early education investment shows that these programs are effective at getting kids ready for K鈥�12 schooling. Put simply, pre-K appears to be good at getting kids 鈥減re鈥�-pared for K(indergarten). 

The trouble is, political rhetoric about early education investments has sometimes presented them as an invulnerable “” against all challenges that children may face later in life. This is the wrong way to think about whether early education investments 鈥渨ork,鈥� because it sets an impossible bar for success. Head Start 鈥� or pre-K programs more generally 鈥� cannot wholly blunt poverty, poor health or the impacts of low-quality K鈥�12 classrooms.

Indeed, even , like those in a recent study of Tennessee鈥檚 public pre-K program, indicate a positive path forward for public early education investments. Initial studies of the program garnered headlines. While Tennessee pre-K attendees were than their peers who did not attend the program, pre-K attendees scored worse on a range of metrics by the end of elementary school. 

This is concerning! But a pre-K鈥檚 benefits were 鈥渕ost likely to persist until 3rd grade among those students who went on to attend high quality schooling environments and were taught by highly effective teachers.鈥� That is, Tennessee鈥檚 pre-K programs succeeded at preparing children for kindergarten, and kids who went from those programs into higher-quality elementary classrooms continued to do better.听

In other words, if Head Start and other pre-K programs are measured as a one-time public investment that will solve all systemic inequities in American schools and society, they will inevitably appear to fail. But if they are measured against their ability to prepare children for elementary schools, it is clear that they are a success. 

Furthermore, this fairer definition of Head Start鈥檚 effectiveness would allow policymakers to focus their attention on the necessary work of investing and improving K鈥�12 schools so that they bolster children and families beyond the early years. 

News of agents showing up at Lillian Street Elementary School and Russell Elementary School in South Los Angeles鈥� Florence-Graham neighborhood was . A spokesperson said the agents were turned away by school administrators at both schools.听

The federal agents鈥� appearances 鈥� with as many as four showing up at one time looking for information on children in grades one through six 鈥� were believed to be the first reported cases of Homeland Security authorities attempting to enter a U.S. school.听

Carvalho said in both cases the federal agents falsely told school officials they were given authorization by the caretakers of the children to visit their schools and get 鈥漚ccess鈥� to the students. 

鈥淭he agents represented in both instances to the principals that they wanted access to the students to determine their well being,鈥� said Carvalho at a press conference Thursday morning 鈥淚t is disturbing that during that conversation, they conveyed to both principals that the parents or the legal guardians鈥� provided them authorization for access to these kids in school. That is absolutely, blatantly untrue.鈥�

Carvalho said he believes the visits were related to federal immigration enforcement actions. Representatives for DHS did not immediately respond to a request for information. 

鈥淭he children are okay, but the communities are feeling fear, and that is a shame,鈥� said Carvalho, a Portuguese immigrant and critic of President Trump鈥檚 immigration enforcement policies. 

鈥淚 am still mystified as to how a first, second, third, fourth or sixth grader, would pose any type of risk to the national security of our nation, that would require Homeland Security to deploy its agents to two elementary schools,鈥� he said. 

The news comes as families and educators in the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district prepare for federal crackdowns amid among the many immigrant families in Los Angeles. 

On Monday, four officers who identified themselves as Homeland Security agents turned up at Russell Elementary鈥檚 front office asking questions about four students enrolled in grades 1-4 at the school, Carvalho said.

The school鈥檚 administration turned the agents away after determining they did not have a warrant, Carvalho said.

Hours later, he said, another group of agents visited Lillian Street Elementary in search of information regarding a student enrolled in the sixth grade. Those agents, too, were turned away by school officials after it was determined they didn鈥檛 have a warrant.

The groups of officers from the federal agency showed up at the two schools in plain clothes, Carvalho said.

Immigration agents may not be given access to schools unless they.

President Trump has vowed to deport record numbers of undocumented immigrants in his second term, but enforcement actions around public schools have so far been limited.

LAUSD appears to be the only school district that has seen federal agents turn up at the schoolhouse door. A visit by federal agents to a Chicago school earlier this year聽 members of the Secret Service pursuing an investigation. More recently, what were believed to be federal agents parked outside a school in Seattle turned out to actually .

Carvalho said it didn鈥檛 matter that the agents were affiliated with DHS, as opposed to the U.S.听Immigration and Customs Enforcement, because the agencies collaborate on enforcement.

Carvalho said the district鈥檚 legal department has been informed of the federal visits.

In standing against federal immigration enforcement, Carvalho has the backing of his board, which has passed a series of resolutions stating that for immigrant students.

But even with the actions by the school board, immigrant families fear they could be swept up and arrested or deported in a federal immigration roundup, said Evelyn Aleman, founder of Our Voice, a parents鈥� group which advocates for LA Unified鈥檚 low-income and Spanish-speaking families.

鈥淥ur families are in distress over being separated and deported,鈥� said Aleman.

Colorado school districts should revise their school attendance zones at least every four years with a 鈥渃ivil rights focus.鈥� State lawmakers should increase funding to transport students to and from school. And attorneys, advocates, and community organizations should embrace the right to sue over school assignments that increase racial segregation.

Those are among the recommendations in a new report from the Colorado Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 鈥溾�� concludes that the way Colorado draws school attendance boundaries and assigns students to schools mirrors segregated housing patterns and results in low-income families having less access to high-quality schools.

鈥淭his segregation fuels a widespread belief that schools serving predominantly white and affluent students are inherently better than those serving predominantly students of color or low-income families,鈥� said.

from local and national and have . While some local school officials, such as the Denver school board, , the federal Trump administration that could trigger civil rights investigations.

The Colorado Advisory Committee is a 10-person group of bipartisan appointed volunteers. Each state has an advisory committee that produces reports on civil rights issues ranging from housing discrimination to voting rights to the use of excessive force by police officers.

In its latest report, the Colorado committee found that 鈥渢housands 鈥� perhaps tens of thousands 鈥� of Colorado students are likely to be assigned to schools in violation鈥� of a federal law that says assigning a student to a school outside their neighborhood is unlawful 鈥渋f it has segregating effects.鈥�

The committee鈥檚 recommended solutions attempt to balance strong support for neighborhood schools with allowing families to choose the best school for their child. School choice, or the ability for a student to apply to attend any public school, .

The committee advocated for what it called 鈥渃ontrolled choice,鈥� which it said could mean that popular schools reserve seats for students who live outside the neighborhood or that schools give priority admission to non-neighborhood students who live the closest.

To produce its report, the committee held hearings in 2023 to gather input from national experts including university professors, the author of a book on school attendance zones, and representatives from think tanks across the political spectrum.

The committee also convened a group of 10 local experts including Brenda Dickhoner from the conservative advocacy organization Ready Colorado; Kathy Gebhardt, who was then a member of the Boulder Valley school board and now sits on the State Board of Education; former Aurora Public Schools superintendent Rico Munn; and Nicholas Martinez, a former teacher who heads the education reform organization Transform Education Now.

The committee鈥檚 other recommendations include:

• The civil rights divisions of the federal education and justice departments should review options for enforcing 鈥渢he permissible and impermissible use of race in drawing attendance boundaries and setting school assignment policies.鈥�
• Colorado lawmakers should correct 鈥渢he systemic racial and ethnic disparities鈥� caused by the state鈥檚 school transportation system, which does not require school districts to provide transportation to students who use school choice.
• State lawmakers should improve Colorado鈥檚 school choice system, including by adopting a uniform school enrollment window statewide and providing families with more information about schools鈥� discipline policies, class sizes, and other factors.
• Colorado school districts should revise their school attendance zones and student assignment policies at least every four years and 鈥渃onsider racial and ethnic integration as part of the rezoning process.鈥�

鈥淩edrawing school boundaries every few years can help prevent segregation from becoming entrenched while still allowing students to maintain a sense of stability in their educational environment,鈥� the committee鈥檚 policy brief said.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

A soccer ball covered in signatures from classmates. A handwritten letter telling a child of their worth. A T-shirt bearing a school emblem meant to remind a newcomer how much they were loved in a place they once called home.听

These are among the items teachers have given their multilingual learners after hearing their families planned to leave rather than risk being detained by immigration agents.

鈥淥ne of my students told me last week that their family had decided to go back to Brazil because they were afraid of deportation,鈥� said teacher Joanna Schwartz. 鈥淚t was his last day here. I scrounged up a T-shirt with our school鈥檚 logo on it and a permanent marker and my student had all of his friends and teachers sign it.”

She said she taught the fifth grader for three years. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing big, but it was a treasure to him to have the physical signatures of his dearest friends and teachers to take with him,鈥� she said. 

Some immigrant students wrestling with the fear of deportation leave school with no warning. They simply stop showing up and ignore the calls and emails that follow. 

Other times, they give their teachers just a few hour鈥檚 notice, often a single afternoon, to process and accept the loss of a relationship that might have lasted for years. A tight hug, a kind word and then 鈥� gone.  

Such scenes are unfolding throughout the country as the Trump administration and , striking terror in the hearts of the undocumented and their advocates. 

Faced with the fallout, teachers who鈥檝e spent their entire careers advocating for immigrant students 鈥� fighting battles even within their own districts to ensure they have a robust education 鈥� are left fumbling for the right words to say or gift to give a child under extreme stress. 

Schwartz, who teaches multilingual learners in Philadelphia, uses her prior training as a therapist to help kids through these toughest of moments. 

She said she often gives these children 鈥渢ransitional objects,鈥� something tangible, like the signed school T-shirt, to help them feel connected to their friends in the United States as they move back to their homelands.

Schwartz wrote her departing student a letter in which she 鈥渞eminded him of his many strengths and told him how much he will be missed,鈥� she said. She added drawings, stickers and her email address. 

鈥淚 wish I could do more,鈥� she said. 

Areli Rodriguez was devastated when, last winter, during her first year of teaching in Texas, one of her most promising and devoted young students left for another state: The boy鈥檚 family was growing wary of and headed to Oklahoma, where they hoped they鈥檇 be safer. 

鈥淗e was my first student who left for this reason,鈥� she said of the fifth grader who had arrived in the United States from Mexico less than a year earlier. 鈥淚t was so gutting. It just broke my heart.鈥� 

The family didn鈥檛 know the Sooner State would impose some of the harshest in the nation. Those included state schools chief Ryan Walters saying he would comply with Trump’s order allowing immigration enforcement in schools and a failed edict that Oklahoma parents be required to report their own immigration status when enrolling their kids in school. That proposal was rejected by the governor this week, who said children should not be used

Rodriguez is not sure where the child is today. As a parting gift, she gave him a soccer ball signed by all his classmates.

Video: A fifth-grade student leaving Areli Rodriguez’s Texas classroom leads his classmates in a chant in Spanish about self-worth. 社区黑料 obscured the students’ faces to protect their identity and provided the English-translation captions. (Areli Rodriguez)

The boy, who was chosen as student of the week when he departed, led the class in a call-and-response chant by Rita F. Pierson just moments before he was gone from the district for good.  

I am somebody.

I was somebody when I came.

I’ll be a better somebody when I leave.

I am powerful, and I am strong.

鈥� I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go.

And, his teacher noted, she wasn鈥檛 the only gift-giver that day: The boy left her one of his favorite toys, a Rubik鈥檚 Cube. 

In a diary entry, he wrote to Rodriguez and another beloved teacher: 鈥淭o say goodbye to all of you, Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. [S], I want to tell you that you are my favorite teachers, and I鈥檓 sorry for any trouble I may have caused. Maybe I wasn鈥檛 the best student, but I am proud of myself for learning so much.鈥�

Rodriguez didn鈥檛 need the note to remember him.

鈥淚 think about him all the time,鈥� she said, adding that he embodies what she loves most about multilingual learners. 鈥淔or him, school was a gift, an opportunity, a privilege. He just worked so hard. We had academic competitions. I coached him. He did creative writing in Spanish and he placed. His parents were so supportive 鈥� they looked at education as something they wanted to seize.鈥�

His classmates felt the loss, too, Rodriguez said. 

鈥淭here would be times when I would sit there at recess and watch them play without him and you could tell there was an element missing,鈥� she said. 

The Department of Homeland Security is urging undocumented people to This isn鈥檛 the first time they鈥檝e felt such pressure: Former President in a single term, double that of Trump鈥檚 first four years in office. But many of those he turned away were newly arrived at the border. Unlike Trump, Biden shied away from . 

The current president is targeting this population in other ways, too. Trump signed an executive order Feb. 19 aimed at . It鈥檚 unclear how this might impact education: Schools receive federal money, particularly to help support low-income children, but they also cannot turn away students based on their immigration status, according to the 1982 Supreme Court decision . 

That landmark ruling, however, , most recently in Tennessee where lawmakers this month introduced a bill saying schools can deny enrollment to undocumented students. The sponsors say it’s their intention to challenge Plyler.

鈥榃e hugged long and hard鈥�

In addition to the T-shirts, cards and other mementos, educators are preparing something else for withdrawing students, a far more practical gift meant to help them resume their education elsewhere 鈥� and quickly. 

Genoveva Winkler, regional migrant education program coordinator housed in Idaho鈥檚 Nampa School District, said she鈥檚 given more than 100 families copies of their students鈥� transcripts in English and Spanish. 

鈥淭his school year, we are preparing 鈥榩ackets鈥� for the families with all that information,鈥� Winkler wrote in a Facebook message, adding her district also gave them textbooks supplied by the Mexican Consulate that parents can use to prepare their children academically and bolster their Spanish. 鈥淭he students are not 100% bilingual. Parents are taking all steps necessary to make the transition easier for their children.鈥�

Indianapolis teacher Amy Halsall said four children from the same family, ranging in age from 7 to 12, left her school system right after Inauguration Day, headed back to Mexico. 

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 specifically say that it was immigration related but I would guess it was,鈥� Halsall said. 鈥淭his is a family that we have had in our school since their sixth grader was in first grade. The kids were really upset that they had to leave.鈥�

The youngest and the eldest told Halsall they want to be ESL teachers when they grow up, she said. The two middle children hope to be mechanics and one day open their own shop. Halsall gave them a notebook full of letters written by fellow students and pictures of their classmates.

鈥淚 told the kids that they had learned a lot and always did their best,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 told them that they worked hard and were on their way to being bilingual. We hugged long and hard. I told them if they ever came back to Indianapolis that they should call us or visit.

I told them if I was ever in Mexico, I would call them. I tried hard to keep things positive but it was hard for all of us. Everyone had tears in their eyes.鈥�

The anxiety continues, Halsall said. Just last week, another child, age 8, told her he worried that 鈥淟a Migra鈥� 鈥� ICE agents 鈥� would take his mother away while he was out. 

鈥淚 told him that he was safe at school and if he got home and no one was there to call me,鈥� she said. 

Another teacher, in Virginia, said she had two such students leave school so far this academic year. One hailed from Guatemala and the other from Mexico. Both were in their mid-teens and had impeccable attendance, she said.

The boy from Guatemala, a solid student who wanted to accelerate his path toward graduation, would often say how perplexing it was that some of his peers didn鈥檛 show the same dedication to their studies that he did. 

Both teens expressed concern to fellow students about possible immigration raids shortly before leaving school for good. Their teacher did not have a chance to say goodbye in either case. Their departure, she said, left her feeling 鈥渃ompletely empty.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e loved watching them integrate in our school and seeing how they realized they can have this pathway if they choose,鈥� she said. 鈥淲atching that choice ripped away by fear is devastating.鈥�

The , signed by 65 organizations, was spearheaded by the Medicaid in the Schools Coalition, which advocates to protect and improve school-based Medicaid programs, which primarily serve students with disabilities and those living in poverty.

鈥淎ny cuts to Medicaid would reduce care for children with disabilities, undermine efforts to address the mental health crisis and exacerbate workforce shortages of school health providers,鈥� said Jessie Mandle, the national program director at the and coalition co-chair. 鈥淪trong school-based Medicaid programs 鈥� rely on a strong Medicaid program overall, and so cutting Medicaid is equivalent to cutting school district budgets.鈥�

Schools receive about $7.5 billion annually from , a popular joint federal and state health program that insures nearly 70 million Americans, most of whom are low-income. For more than 30 years, it鈥檚 paid for services in schools for students with disabilities as well as low-income students.

While President Trump said this week that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security would in the GOP鈥檚 quest to deliver $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and beefed-up border security, in Medicaid funding decreases are being eyed in the House.

School-based Medicaid makes up less than 1% of the overall program鈥檚 budget, but is still the fourth-largest funding stream for districts and allows them to pay for a swath of resources, including therapies for students with disabilities, school nurses, mental health care and specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs. 

of districts use Medicaid funding to pay for the salaries of health professionals, according to 2017 data. New data forthcoming from The Healthy Schools Campaign suggests that the number is now even higher, Mandle told 社区黑料. 

And 鈥� 40 million 鈥� are now insured through Medicaid or the , which provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Previous that improving children’s health improves their classroom performance.

Meanwhile, the political confusion over whether Medicaid will be protected has done little to quell anxiety that the funding might be in jeopardy. 

A Feb. 19 statement to from White House spokesperson Kush Desai attempted to reconcile Trump鈥檚 comments shielding Medicaid with his support for the proposed House budget that targets it: 鈥淭he Trump administration is committed to protecting Medicare and Medicaid while slashing the waste, fraud, and abuse within those programs 鈥� reforms that will increase efficiency and improve care for beneficiaries.鈥�

Any spending caps or reductions to the federal match would shift the bulk of the mandated costs of providing health care coverage to states, according to the coalition鈥檚 letter. This could have 鈥渄evastating鈥� effects, leading to a cut in services for all students 鈥� not just those with disabilities聽鈥� or increased local taxes.听

On the ground, this could result in fewer social workers or school-based psychologists, decreased access to health care 鈥� especially in rural and urban communities, a loss of critical supplies that allow children with disabilities to access the same curricular as their peers and noncompliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the coalition states.

鈥淲e have a very underfunded special education system,鈥� said Sasha Pudelski, director of advocacy at and coalition co-chair, 鈥渁nd this Medicaid reimbursement is a critical source of funding.鈥�

鈥淭rying to find the money within our local education budget to fill in gaps where Medicaid currently reimburses districts would be 鈥� in this funding environment in particular 鈥� an enormous challenge,鈥� she continued.

Silvia Yee, policy director at the , which co-signed the letter, said it鈥檚 particularly important that many of these health-related services are available in schools because they are widely trusted community hubs and family touchpoints. 

The burden of cuts would be felt particularly by vulnerable families, she added: 鈥淭he more you reduce the available resources to a lower-income family, the more you鈥檙e potentially digging a pit for that family, and it鈥檚 very hard to dig out of.鈥�

Yee also noted that a rollback in federal funding could make it more challenging for students with disabilities to learn in an integrated setting with their peers, setting them up for 鈥渟egregation for the rest of their lives.鈥�

鈥淎ll of these services can and should work together to help us achieve integration that鈥檚 not a burden on teachers [and] not a burden on schools,鈥� she said. 鈥淗elping take care of children鈥檚 medical needs in school is a step forward. Taking that away is such a step backward.鈥�

The world is a messy place. Most of us figure this out by the time we hit adulthood: However compelling our convictions, however good our intentions, humans are constantly tripping into one another. What looks like virtuous, upstanding behavior through our eyes 鈥� always looks different to others. Worse yet, sometimes the Good Thing to Do in a moment can be all but impossible to discern. Do you tell the truth now, even if that causes your friend pain? Do you tell them later, even if your delay hurts many more people? Do you turn to violence to stop the violence of others 鈥� and if so, how much?聽

Pretty much every moral tradition is clear that harm to children is among the gravest misdeeds. This isn鈥檛 complicated. Children merit unique protective cushions because of their enormous potential. How they develop now will shape their 鈥� and our 鈥� future. Further, children cannot deserve harm. They鈥檙e morally blameless 鈥� . As messy as the world is, it鈥檚 obvious that adults shouldn鈥檛 hurt children. Further, systems that are somehow violating this 鈥� bombing them, shooting them, starving them, injuring them 鈥� are also fundamentally wrong. There are no legitimate excuses. End of discussion. 

Hold that close to your heart as you reflect on the Trump administration鈥檚 recent decision to open K鈥�12 campuses to armed enforcement actions. For 14 years, the U.S. federal government had recommended that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should steer clear of 鈥溾�� like schools, but also churches, hospitals and other community centers. Immediately after taking power, , opening schools across the country to immigration raids. 

To understand the behind this change, it鈥檚 worth understanding why officials ever avoided conducting enforcement at these locations. It鈥檚 not that federal leaders were reluctant to carry out U.S. laws, rather, it鈥檚 that they wanted to separate the potentially dangerous, complex work of immigration enforcement activity from disrupting children鈥檚 daily lives. 

As , 鈥淲e can accomplish our law enforcement mission without denying individuals access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship, and more. Adherence to this principle is a bedrock of our stature as public servants.鈥�

Again: Protecting kids is a paramount moral concern. And in 2025, it鈥檚 clear that U.S. adults have collectively failed in that task. Today鈥檚 K鈥�12 students have weathered the academic and social strains of a deadly global pandemic. They attend school in an era when campus shootings are regularly in the news and natural disasters amplified by climate change have decimated their communities and shuttered their classrooms in places like , and . They’ve watched violent assaults on representative government being not just normalized as part of U.S. politics 鈥� but excused and even celebrated by the leaders of one of our major political parties. Is it any wonder that children鈥檚 mental health ?

The kids are not all right. This is a terrible moment to introduce more uncertainty and instability into their lives. At least one major district is pushing back. Denver Public Schools this week to keep ICE agents out of schools, with the school board president noting, “Scared children can鈥檛 learn.”

Obviously, the Trump administration鈥檚 new ICE-in-Your- Classrooms policy could be stressful for children of immigrants, who are uniquely sensitive to the possible consequences of these raids. Research has that increased immigration enforcement activity around children of immigrants . In the weeks since Trump鈥檚 order, , regardless of the specific state of their family鈥檚 documentation, . 

And yet, this new policy affects all children. , 鈥淭his administration is breaking with the idea that schools should be an accepting and reassuring space for young people.鈥� Children don鈥檛 have to have an immigrant parent to struggle with this moment. It鈥檚 hard to imagine how armed law enforcement activity on campus could help them feel safer or help them learn more, especially as the most recent round of math and reading scores have confirmed that the country鈥檚 students are falling further off pace, academically speaking. 

Of course, that鈥檚 perhaps the point. The new administration鈥檚 K鈥�12 education plans are thin (at best) when it comes to proposals for improving how schools support children鈥檚 academic achievement. , Trump and his deputies are and . 

This won鈥檛 make communities safer or improve kids鈥� academic performance. Research , shows that are major to their . It also has found that culturally and linguistically diverse kids are some of U.S. schools鈥� best students, whose presence appears to academic achievement . 

If this debate still seems complicated: remember that the world鈥檚 messy. U.S. immigration laws, , should be enforced. Meanwhile, our kids 鈥� currently overcoming generationally awful obstacles 鈥� deserve to feel safe and secure enough to focus on learning. 

But anyone who reflects on those two public priorities and concludes that children鈥檚 well-being is of secondary importance is betraying the depravity of their moral compass. They are showing that they do not, however much they protest, understand what it means to put students first. 

Conor P. Williams is a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a Founding Partner at the Children鈥檚 Equity Project, and a father to three public school students. These views are his alone and do not reflect his employers or any organizations with which he may be affiliated. 

Denver resident Leslie Williams鈥� daughter, who is transgender, turned 18 in December, something she had been looking forward to given the lessened restrictions on access to gender-affirming care for adults.

Williams and her family moved to Denver from Kentucky in 2023 so her daughter could access hormone replacement therapy, and they鈥檝e gone to Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado since she was 16 years old. She takes estrogen tablets and gets regular lab testing to ensure proper levels.

鈥淚t took a while for us to get in, but since then everything鈥檚 gone very smoothly,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭he physicians have been wonderful. Everybody was wonderful. We had a really good experience there every time we鈥檝e been.鈥�

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

Williams said she received a message from the hospital this week notifying her they can no longer provide gender-affirming care to anyone under 19 years old.

鈥淪he鈥檚 really been struggling a lot lately,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭he last two weeks have been really rough, and then getting the notification that her care is going to be possibly suspended or delayed has been a really big blow to her.鈥�

Colorado Newsline, confirming the message Williams received, that Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado sent to staffers telling them that the hospital had stopped offering all gender-affirming medical treatment to patients 18 years old and younger.

President Donald Trump issued an on Jan. 28 that prohibits the federal government from funding gender-affirming care for anyone under 19 and threatens to pull other funding from any entity that offers such care. It also removes Medicare and Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care, among other changes.

Gender-affirming care, endorsed by both the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, can range from non-medical interventions like haircuts and name changes to services like hormone therapy and surgery to support the patient鈥檚 gender identity.

Access to gender-affirming care has made a 鈥渂ig difference鈥� for her daughter鈥檚 self esteem and the way she perceives herself, Williams said. She said she鈥檚 scrambling now to find another solution since other clinics are also shutting down access for anyone under 19, and anyone that does offer care has long wait times.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just really sad to see,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭rans kids already have to go through a lot and they already have higher than normal suicide rates, and so it鈥檚 just a really scary time for trans people.鈥�

Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado said in a statement it will continue to provide 鈥渂ehavioral health and supportive care services once approved prescriptions for current patients expire.鈥� The hospital never offered gender-affirming surgical care to patients under 18.

鈥淟ike other hospitals across the country, we will continue to assess the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape,鈥� the hospital statement said. 鈥淲e care deeply about our gender-diverse patients and their families, and we will carefully and responsibly support them as we evolve the model of care we offer.鈥�

Colorado saw an increased need for service following the election. The Trevor Project, a crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, on Nov. 6, the day after the election, than in the weeks prior. In 2023, the organization that 90% of LGBTQ+ youth felt that the current political environment negatively affects their well-being.

Broomfield resident Jessica Broadbent鈥檚 15-year-old son is transgender and has gone to Denver Health for gender-affirming care since he was 12. The first step in his transition was changing his name, a decision Broadbent said he came to all on his own.

鈥淭his has been all him making these decisions and me just kind of helping support him along the way and getting all the professional help that we can,鈥� Broadbent said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been some time, and he鈥檚 made these decisions slowly, surely and with informed and professional input. So it鈥檚 really frustrating on all levels.鈥�

Her son started taking puberty blockers, and switched to weekly testosterone shots once he turned 14. He recently switched to a daily testosterone cream instead, because he has a fear of needles.

Broadbent said she鈥檚 scared for how her son will be affected should he lose access to his medications, as gender-affirming care has been 鈥渓ife changing鈥� for him. She has had 鈥渟ome very disheartening conversations鈥� with her son in recent weeks, and she鈥檚 worried more about the mental and emotional consequences than the physical effects if he loses access to his medication.

鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating having my kid feeling like he has to suppress who he is, what he believes in, hide to be safe,鈥� Broadbent said.

Denver Health stopped providing some gender-affirming care this week, the reported. The health system said in a Jan. 30 that the Trump order 鈥渋ncludes criminal and financial consequences for those who do not comply鈥� and puts at risk its ability to participate in federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which represents 鈥渁 significant portion of Denver Health鈥檚 funding.鈥�

鈥淒enver Health is committed to and deeply concerned for the health and safety of our gender diverse patients under the age of 19 in light of the executive order regarding youth gender-affirming care,鈥� the statement says. 鈥淲e recognize this order will impact gender-diverse youth, including increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality.鈥�

Existing patients should continue with any scheduled appointments, and Denver Health will work privately with its patients to determine the best changes to their medical care, the statement said.

Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said the governor wants to ensure 鈥渆very Coloradan can access the healthcare they need, no matter who they are or how they identify.鈥�

鈥淲e are continuing to evaluate Trump鈥檚 executive order, which blatantly attacks members of the LGBTQ community, to understand its impact in Colorado and how people can continue to get access to needed care,鈥� Wieman said in a statement.

Williams said she鈥檚 seen the governor talk about 鈥減rotecting trans kids and protecting trans folks in Colorado, and I don鈥檛 know how much they can really do when it鈥檚 federal funding that鈥檚 being cut.鈥� But she wants to see elected officials talk more about how they can actually make a difference.

UCHealth spokesperson Kelli Christensen said the system has only offered gender-affirming care to patients 18 and older, but after the executive order, it will only offer services to patients 19 and older. That includes gender-affirming surgeries as well as medical therapies listed in the executive order.

鈥淲e know these changes may be challenging, especially for 18-year-old patients previously approved for gender affirming care, and behavioral health services will be available to help support our patients as they navigate these changes,鈥� Christensen said in a statement.

A spokesperson for AdventHealth said it does not offer gender-affirming care to anyone under 18. HCA HealthONE hospitals also do not offer gender-affirming care. Spokesperson Stephanie Sullivan said its physicians would consult with patients, but they don鈥檛 offer any treatments.

鈥業t鈥檚 supposed to be safe鈥�

Broadbent said she plans to talk to her son鈥檚 doctor about getting a three-month supply of his medication before the end of the month. She is also looking for other providers that might be able to prescribe his testosterone cream without putting access to federal funding at risk.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of putting us all up against the wall,鈥� Broadbent said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it so soon.鈥�

Being in Colorado where 鈥渋t鈥檚 supposed to be safe,鈥� Broadbent said she thought the state would be 鈥渟omewhat insulated,鈥� though not immune to pressure from the federal government. She and her family moved to Colorado from Florida eight years ago.

鈥淧art of the appeal of being here is the access to care. It鈥檚 part of why we paid more to live here,鈥� she said.

Broadbent and her husband are ready to pack up everything they have and leave the country if that鈥檚 ultimately what will be best for their children. But her son is a freshman in high school, and he wants to finish school, where he鈥檚 already established roots.

Colorado officials need to acknowledge what is happening and to work actively to protect their constituents, Broadbent said. She called the office of U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette鈥檚, a Denver Democrat, and the office shared information on efforts to fight the executive order, a conversation Broadbent said gave her 鈥渁 little bit of hope.鈥�

In a statement to Newsline, DeGette described the executive order as 鈥渃ruel鈥� and said it 鈥渋gnores the fact that this kind of care is supported by every major medical association.鈥� She said executive actions like the ones Trump has taken do not have the authority to override the U.S. Constitution, legal precedent, or federal statute.

鈥淭rump鈥檚 actions, which are not based on science or accepted medical practice, are demonizing an already vulnerable group of Americans and denying them the care they need to live as their true selves,鈥� DeGette said.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2026, joined a group of other attorneys general in Wednesday. An executive order from the president cannot make gender-affirming care illegal, because there is no federal law that does, Weiser said in a statement.

The statement said a U.S. Justice Department order last week stated that federal agencies cannot pause financial awards or obligations on the basis of an executive order, meaning 鈥渇ederal funding to institutions that provide gender-affirming care continues to be available, irrespective of the recent executive order.鈥�

鈥淎s state attorneys general, we stand firmly in support of health care policies that respect the dignity and rights of all people,鈥� the statement says. 鈥淗ealth care decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors, not by politicians trying to use their power to restrict freedoms. Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.

Students, educators and advocates gathered at a library in Meriden Tuesday to call on state and local leaders to expand protections for immigrant students, as well as those in the LGBTQ+ community, and to fully fund Connecticut’s public schools.

The call to action came just two weeks into Donald J. Trump’s second presidential term, during which he has signed a slew of executive orders that have revoked previous limits on at schools and other sensitive locations, for transgender youth and pledged to  for 鈥渋llegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.鈥�

“We will not tolerate these unprecedented attacks on public schools, which are the foundation of our democracy, and we will not tolerate these attacks on our students, who are the leaders who will sustain our democracy in the future,” said Leslie Blatteau, the president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

Speaking at a press conference at Meriden Public Library, Blatteau was joined by a half dozen other community advocates who are part of Connecticut For All, a statewide coalition that says its goal is to “reduce and eliminate systemic racial, economic, and gender inequities in Connecticut.” The group called for Gov. Ned Lamont and state lawmakers to commit to protecting students’ safety, providing support and ensuring “they’re able to succeed in their learning environment.”

One proposal put forth Tuesday was to strengthen the state’s , a 2013 law that limits state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We call on state leaders and community members to work together in ensuring that all students, regardless of their background, receive the education they deserve 鈥� that ICE does not rip their families apart, and that they honor sensitive locations,” said Tabitha Sookdeo, the executive director for Connecticut Students For A Dream.

“Education is a right. Safety is the right. Dignity is a right,” Sookdeo went on. “The classroom should be a place of learning and growth, not a place of fear and uncertainty. Ensuring protections and resources for these students allows them to focus on their education, just like any other kid, and contribute to their communities.”

Last week, state education officials on how local district leaders should respond to 鈥渋mmigration activities,鈥� including in cases where federal immigration officers request student information or come onto school property.

The  addressed common questions the Education Department has received from school districts about changes in U.S. Homeland Security policy guidance, and it stressed that both state and federal law 鈥減rotect a student鈥檚 right to attend public schools, regardless of their immigration status.鈥�

Sookdeo said the memo was “good start,” but it fell “short of giving guidance to teachers if a school district does not put appropriate protocols into place.”

“What happens if a school allows an ICE officer to come in and take a student? What’s the protocol for that?” Sookdeo said.

Another growing concern is with students who identify as transgender or part of the LGBTQ+ community. One of Trump’s executive orders signed last Tuesday would, if enacted, withhold federal funding from institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, that provide gender-affirming care to youth under the age of 19. The directive also seeks to restrict coverage of those services from federally-run insurance programs, like Medicaid.

Connecticut Children鈥檚 CEO Jim Shmerling raised concerns about a cut to gender-affirming services last week, saying that he expects a “significant rise in suicide ideation and potential attempts in suicide.”

Advocates at the news conference echoed Shemerling’s concerns.

“We cannot expect a student to give 100% to their studies if they cannot be 100% of who they are,” said Tony Ferraiolo, of Healthcare Advocates International & Equality Now. “We are setting them up for failure when we take away a child’s ability to be seen,” Ferraiolo said. “What we’re telling them is that they don’t belong.”

Last year, Connecticut reaffirmed Title IX protections after the Biden administration issued new rules expanding protections for transgender students and a to block the rules. The Connecticut Department of Education directing Connecticut schools to recognize and respect a student鈥檚 preferences. Refusing to use a student鈥檚 preferred pronouns or call the student by a particular name may 鈥渃onstitute gender-based discrimination鈥� and be 鈥渄eemed discriminatory under Title IX,鈥� the guidance stated.

The state also defined gender dysphoria and said it could qualify students for specialized instruction. It allowed school boards to develop policies regarding what information may be shared with parents. And it permitted districts to provide single-sex bathrooms and access to facilities that correspond with a students鈥� gender identity, granting 鈥渆qual opportunity鈥� in participation of both curricular and extracurricular activities.

The Biden administration’s 2024 guidance was  by the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights which stated it will only enforce Title IX provisions from 2020, which were written under Trump in his first presidency.

鈥淣o portion of the 2024 Title IX Rule is now in effect in any jurisdiction,鈥� wrote Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights for the federal Department of Education. Trainor also wrote that under one of Trump’s recent executive orders, which called for the acknowledgment of just two genders, that the education department 鈥渕ust enforce Title IX consistent with President Trump鈥檚 Order.鈥�

Trump has also threatened that federal funding could be rescinded “,鈥� from schools that provide direct or indirect support toward the social transition of a transgender student.”

A spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Education said the agency planned to review its Guidance on Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender or Gender-Diverse Students “to determine whether revisions are required in light of” the Trump administration’s reinstatement of 2020 regulations.

While the Trump administration has threatened funding cuts to K-12 schools, it has also reaffirmed its commitment to through federal funding. School choice 鈥� the ability to seek education outside of an assigned, traditional public school 鈥� has been a . Proponents say it gives families autonomy to find the education model that works best for their kids, and opponents say it takes funding away from traditional public schools, segregates children and privatizes education.

“Every single child deserves to go to a public school that prepares them for life beyond the classroom, no matter where they live or the economic conditions they face,” Chad Cardillo, a Meriden City Council member, high school teacher and union vice president, said at Tuesday’s event. “Make no mistake that providing taxpayer dollars to private entities under the guise of choice provides one true choice 鈥� that of those private entities to exclude students who do not fit their mold.”

Unlike other areas of the country, Connecticut has not seen a serious push to expand school choice through voucher programs, to send their children to private or religious schools. But the approval of charter schools .

Five charter schools received by the state Board of Education and must now go before the state legislature for a final step in the process before they can open their doors and begin enrolling students. At that meeting, Elizabeth Sked, a union member part of the Connecticut Education Association objected to the opening of the schools, saying they 鈥渞esult in inequity, diminished diversity and concentrations of students with the greatest resource needs,鈥� and that the state should instead focus on 鈥渟ufficiently funding its existing public schools before expanding a parallel system of charter schools.鈥�

Similar sentiments were also shared Tuesday, as Blatteau said “new charter schools and proposed voucher programs undermine the tenets of true public education.”

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

A federal judge in Washington state today President Donald J. Trump鈥檚 three-day-old executive order to end birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, called the order .” He agreed with the four state plaintiffs that it would cause irreparable harm to those denied their right to citizenship, subjected to the risk of deportation and family separation and deprived of federally funded medical care and public benefits that “prevent child poverty and promote child health,” also impacting their education. A separate federal lawsuit is pending in Massachusetts.

鈥� plus San Francisco and Washington, D.C. 鈥� and several civil rights groups are suing to block President Donald J. Trump鈥檚 move to undo birthright citizenship through executive order, a constitutional challenge education leaders say could transform public schools.听

Trump, who rode a to a second term, argues that to any child whose mother is unlawfully present in the United States or lawfully present on a temporary basis 鈥� such as foreign students 鈥� and whose father is neither a citizen nor a lawful permanent resident. 

The move garnered immediate backlash: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868. It states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” 

鈥淚f you lose the protections of birthright citizenship and is overturned or somehow ignored, then I think a lot of families would withdraw their children from school out of fear of deportation,鈥� said immigration advocate and policy expert Timothy Boals, referring to the 1982 Supreme Court case which forbids schools from denying enrollment based on a child鈥檚 or their parents鈥� immigration status. 

Conservative forces aligned with the Trump administration have been strategizing an end to Plyler . That potential threat is now being amplified with the affront on birthright citizenship and Tuesday鈥檚 announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are now free to , churches and other once-protected areas. The president has already pledged and a return to .

鈥淲hat that means is more children are denied an education and that’s not good for our society if they end up staying,鈥� said Boals, 鈥渁nd it’s certainly not good for the students wherever they end up going.鈥�

Speaking specifically about the ICE enforcement change, Laura Gardner, who founded Immigrant Connections, a consulting group that works with educators, said the policy will create 鈥渋ntense fear鈥� and could negatively impact student attendance and family engagement. It will also be difficult for teachers, whom she said can鈥檛 do their job when children aren鈥檛 in school. 

鈥淎s educators, we always remind students and families that schools are a safe space and now we can鈥檛 really guarantee that,鈥� she told 社区黑料. 鈥淯ltimately, all this is going to do is hurt innocent children.鈥�

About lived with an unauthorized immigrant parent in 2022, according to the Pew Research Center. About 250,000 babies were born to unauthorized immigrant parents in the United States in 2016, the latest year for which information is available, according to . This represents a 36% decrease from a peak of about 390,000 in 2007.

The president also seeks to prohibit government agencies from issuing documents recognizing an infant鈥檚 citizenship if born under the circumstances he outlined 鈥� or from accepting documents issued by state, local or other authorities acknowledging their citizenship. 

The controversial order could go into effect Feb. 19, leaving children born on U.S. soil to non-citizen parents, from that date on, without any legal status. 鈥淭hey will all be deportable and many will be stateless,鈥� according to . 

It said Trump has no right to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment, 鈥淣or is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth.鈥�

Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups fighting the move, called it a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values.

鈥淏irthright citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans.鈥�

Romero鈥檚 remarks harken back to one of the Supreme Court鈥檚 most reviled rulings: . In that 1857 case, the court ruled that enslaved people, including Dred Scott, were not citizens of the United States and, as a result, could not expect any protection from the federal government or courts, according to the . 

The ruling, which pushed the nation toward civil war, was essentially undone by the 13th and 14th amendments. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James lambasted Trump for trying to reverse what has been a hallmark of the nation for more than 150 years.

鈥淭his executive order is nothing but an attempt to sow division and fear, but we are prepared to fight back with the full force of the law to uphold the integrity of our Constitution,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s Attorney General, I will always protect the legal rights of immigrants and their families and communities.鈥�

If Trump鈥檚 order is implemented, the U.S. would join other nations that do not allow birthright citizenship 鈥� or greatly restrict such protections 鈥� including and Australia. 

As of 2022, reported that unauthorized immigrants represented 3.3% of the total U.S. population and 23% of the foreign-born population: Immigrants as a whole comprised 14.3% of the nation鈥檚 population that year, below the record high of 14.8% reached in 1890.

At an inaugural prayer service Tuesday, an Episcopal bishop made to reconsider his views on immigrants and their kids. 

鈥�… they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors,鈥� the Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde said. 鈥�… I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away 鈥︹��

The next day Trumpand described Edgar Budde as a 鈥渟o-called Bishop鈥� and a 鈥淩adical Left hard line Trump hater鈥� who was not compelling or smart.

In this politically charged era, there鈥檚 one thing both parties agree on: the benefits of high school career pathways. 

With strong bipartisan support, career and technical education programs are poised to be a centerpiece of education policy over the next few years 鈥� both federally and in California. That鈥檚 good news for students taking agriscience, cabinetry, game design and other hands-on courses that may lead to high-paying careers.

Education advocates hail this as a boon for high schools. Students enrolled in career training courses tend to have . And business leaders say that strong career education can boost a local economy.

But there are still many unknowns, and some education experts worry that an expansion of career education will come at the expense of college-preparation programs, or lead to a return to 鈥渢racking,鈥� in which schools steer certain students 鈥� often low-income students 鈥� toward careers that tend to pay less than those that require college degrees.

鈥淭his could be a great opportunity for career and technical education, but we have to do it right,鈥� said Andy Rotherham, co-founder of Bellwether, a nonprofit educational consulting organization. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot at stake.鈥�

Funding is a primary question mark. While Republicans strongly support career education, it鈥檚 unclear if that enthusiasm will translate to more money 鈥� especially if Congress eliminates the Department of Education, as President-elect Trump has vowed to do. 

Career education classes can be some of the most expensive programs in a school district. Supplies, up-to-date equipment, teacher training, smaller class sizes, operation costs and students鈥� certification exams can cost millions, and the costs only increase over time. Schools spend 20%-40% more to educate students in career programs than they spend on those who aren鈥檛, .

Most federal funding for career education comes from a 1960s law meant to improve career education. But that funding has not kept up with the escalating costs. Last year Congress allotted $1.4 billion, which was distributed to states through grants. California received $142 million, and supplemented that with an additional $1 billion.

鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to see this bipartisan support, but we鈥檇 like it to lead to continued investment,鈥� said Alisha Hyslop, chief policy, research and content officer at the Association for Career and Technical Education, an advocacy group. 

Career education and tracking

Career and technical education has waxed and waned since its inception in the early 20th century as a way to prepare students, usually from working-class or immigrant families, for jobs in skilled trades.

For decades, most high schools in the U.S. had some form of vocational education. Those programs came under scrutiny in the 1980s and 鈥�90s as some complained about tracking practices that left many students without the option to attend a 4-year college because they hadn鈥檛 taken the required coursework.

Partly in response to that criticism, former President George W. Bush鈥檚 No Child Left Behind Act in the early 2000s encouraged schools to promote college for all students. As a result, many schools cut back their career education offerings and added more advanced academic classes.

Then the 2008 financial crisis hit. High unemployment coupled with the soaring cost of college led schools to revive their career training programs, but with less tracking. Schools started encouraging all students to take career education classes, and the classes themselves were updated. Welding and auto shop were joined by computer science, graphic design, environmental studies, health care and other fields. In California, students are encouraged to take a career pathway as well as the required classes for admission to public 4-year colleges, although last year only about 11% of students completed both, according to .

Welders vs. philosophers

Career and technical education is a focal point of , the conservative policy roadmap written by the Heritage Foundation as well as the Republican party education platform and President-elect Trump鈥檚 nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon. McMahon headed a pro-Trump political action group called America First Action, whose policies include an  in K-12 schools. The Republican platform reads, 鈥�(We) will emphasize education to prepare students for great jobs and careers, supporting 鈥� schools that offer meaningful work experience.鈥�

Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump鈥檚 nominee for Secretary of State, put it more succinctly: 鈥淲elders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers,鈥� .

Career education has also been a priority for Democrats. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and the Legislature have all promoted career education. In 2022 Newsom created the Golden State Pathways program, a $470 million investment in high school career education, and followed up a year later with the , outlining a long-term vision. Newsom described it as 鈥渁 game changer for thousands of students.鈥�

In California, the goal is to , and tie pathways 鈥� sequences of two or three classes 鈥� to the local job market. For example, a  at a high school near the Port of Long Beach includes classes in global logistics and international business. A pathway at Hollywood High trains students for jobs in the entertainment industry. 

More ties to business?

But some educators worry about the fate of career education if the Department of Education, which administers the Perkins Act, is eliminated. Project 2025 suggests moving it to the Department of Labor, where it would likely have stronger ties to business and fewer ties to education organizations. That could impact whether pathway programs continue to have academic components, or include college preparation classes.

鈥淏usinesses love CTE because it socializes one of their big costs. Taxpayers are paying to train their workers,鈥� said David Stern, education professor emeritus at UC Berkeley who鈥檚 an expert on career education. 

Hyslop shares that concern. 

鈥淐ertainly CTE has connections to the economy, but at its heart it鈥檚 an education program. It鈥檚 about preparing students for their future, whatever that future may be,鈥� she said.

A broader question may be whether the push for career education is part of a backlash against college generally. College enrollment  for a decade, coinciding with a .

Meanwhile, Trump has proposed big cuts to higher education, and has often expressed disdain for what he described as colleges鈥� leftward tilt. Project 2025 calls for the government to place trade schools on equal footing with 4-year colleges.

鈥淭his new interest in CTE captures the anti-elitist sentiment of the time,鈥� Stern said. He added that preparation for college does not have to conflict with preparation for careers, and some programs, such as the , prepare students for both. 

Rotherham agreed. 鈥淥n the right, there鈥檚 definitely antagonism toward college,鈥� he said.

But they both said regardless of the politics behind it, a national focus on career education could be transformative 鈥� if it doesn鈥檛 railroad students away from college opportunities. Ideally, students can gain career experience in high school, while also learning poetry and civics and other important academic subjects, Rotherham said.

鈥淧ower is having choices,鈥� Rotherham said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we want for kids. The option to change their mind if they want.鈥�

This was originally published on .