Faced With Executive Orders, What Are Schools’ Marching Orders?
- Understand what the orders mean – and don’t mean.
- Review policies and procedures now, with your legal counsel involved.
- Keep communicating – including when you’re not sure what’s next.
- Take a deep breath.
By Thom Fladung and Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications
The news coming at school administrators and school boards has been fast and furious: ICE agents can enter schools to stage immigration raids. “Gender ideology” must be removed from classrooms to retain federal funding. “School choice” is expanding exponentially, with government-funded vouchers soon flowing to parents who send their children to private schools. Federal spending on education programs across the country is frozen.
Except…at this writing, there have been no documented instances of ICE agents entering any school or school bus. The White House executive orders involving the teaching of gender ideology and critical race theory, as well as the expansion of private school vouchers, have no immediate impact and the ultimate impact is unclear. And, while the freeze on funding for federal grants and other programs was indeed issued, it was quickly rescinded and now faces a temporary restraining order from a federal judge.
Got all that?
This much is clear: Schools are dealing with a lot right now. Here’s how Chalkbeat characterized the current climate: “With a series of sweeping executive actions, President Donald Trump is seeking to remake K-12 education in a conservative image. In the process, he’s pushing legal and political boundaries on how far the federal government can reach into American classrooms.”
What should schools be doing right now? From a crisis communications and crisis planning standpoint, here are some best practices to consider.
Go to school on executive orders
School board members and school district leaders should have a clear understanding of how presidential executive orders work and what they mean. And be prepared to help your parents, teachers, staff and students understand as well.
The national School Superintendents Association (AASA) recently provided this guidance: “…it’s crucial to clearly understand the scope of executive orders and to approach these and other recent actions with careful consideration. Executive orders do not create new laws, amend existing laws, or offer binding legal interpretations for schools to follow. Instead, they direct federal agencies on how the President intends to enforce existing laws. … However, their authority remains constrained by the text of existing statutes and regulations, as well as by court interpretations of those laws. Without action from Congress or the judiciary, many of the more aggressive interpretations reflected in these executive orders cannot, on their own, alter the legal landscape.”
Chalkbeat added this perspective: “…the executive orders on their own have little power to radically and rapidly change an American school system in which states, school districts, and even individual schools have traditionally called the shots on everything from what kids learn to which restroom transgender students use. …It will likely take months for the full impact of the executive orders to be clear.”
And Business Insider offered: “Because states still largely control funding and public school curricula, though, it’s unclear how Trump’s plans to shape education across all classrooms would be implemented — and they would likely face legal challenges.”
In other words, much remains to be seen about how this will play out. And overreacting right now, including with communications, won’t help. Ready, fire, aim is not the course to choose.
That said, the time between now and when the practical effect of many of the executive orders will be known is a gift. It’s time you can use to study, plan and prepare. It’s not the time to hope all this goes away.
Consider your policies and procedures now
Use this time to review your existing policies and procedures – and involve your trusted legal counsel in that review.
The executive order of most urgency and concern to schools right now is the rescinding of the rule creating “protected areas,” which effectively blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from schools, places of worship and health care facilities.
Schools have scrambled to react, with no small amount of confusion accompanying the new guideline.
Chicago Public Schools mistakenly issued a report to parents that ICE agents had arrived at an elementary school when it was U.S. Secret Service agents investigating a threat at a nearby home and then also inquiring about it at the school. No agent entered the school, the Secret Service told the Chicago ABC affiliate.
Akron Public Schools briefly placed Forest Hill Community Learning Center on lockdown after receiving reports of ICE agents near the elementary school. Again, no agent entered the school.
ICE told Newsweek in late January that no immigration enforcement operation has been conducted at schools or bus stops. And as of early February, no known operation had occurred. John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director in Colorado, told Newsweek that the policy change does not specifically aim to increase operations in schools, but rather to remove restrictions on ICE’s ability to operate in neighborhoods around sensitive locations.
“They didn’t get rid of it so they could go into schools and churches. They got rid of it so they could actually go into just a regular neighborhood,” Fabbricatore said.
Nevertheless, savvy schools across the nation have been reviewing policies around the immigration and ICE issues and communicating with staff members and parents how the prospect of immigration raids will be handled. Not surprisingly, those responses vary across the nation. Here’s a sample:
- Denver Public Schools issued a memo to staff to deny ICE agents entry to buildings if the agents don’t have an appointment of business with the school.
- In Shaker Heights, Ohio, Superintendent Dr. David Glasner sent parents and staff a letter that said: “Student records will not be shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unless required by a court order. ICE agents are not permitted to enter our schools without a valid warrant signed by a federal judge. While immigration enforcement actions on school grounds are highly unlikely, we will respond appropriately and with the same level of sensitivity and care we use working with all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.”
- Florida’s education department announced it will allow ICE agents into schools for immigration enforcement. “Florida schools will cooperate with all law enforcement working to enforce the nation’s laws on illegal immigration and keep our schools safe,” a Florida Department of Education spokesperson told the USA TODAY Network – Florida.
- The Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a proposal that requires parents to disclose their immigration status or provide proof of citizenship when enrolling their children in public schools.
AASA posted a reminder that according to the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision Plyler v. Doe, states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education based on their immigration status. The association also said that, in anticipation of ICE agents requesting data from schools, staff should be trained on the protections for student data provided by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Keep the communication lines open
As always, communications should follow actions. First, decide if and how you’ll respond to any of these issues. Second, be sure you then explain your actions or planned response. Because the people who care the most about your school – your teachers, staff, parents, students and local community – will be waiting to hear from you.
When you get questions about issues that may still be unclear or undecided, be open and truthful about that – while adding that you’re closely studying the situation and will communicate further when you have solid information to share. People will accept that you do not know yet how something may play out. They’re much less likely to accept “no comment” – and may walk away thinking you either don’t care or are unaware.
Preparation is key to minimizing confusion and fear. Schools can take the following steps to build trust and confidence:
Develop clear protocols
- Work with district leadership to reinforce or establish consistent guidelines for responding to government agency visits.
- Train staff to remain calm and professional while adhering to district-approved policies.
Equip staff with communication skills
- Conduct workshops to prepare staff for high-pressure situations, emphasizing professionalism and reassurance.
- Include training on managing difficult conversations with parents and guardians.
- Prepare for media attention. Media training is highly recommended for superintendents, principals, board chairs and others who may be designated spokespersons.
Be consistent with your messages
- Be sure that staff members, particularly those who regularly answer phones, staff front desks or otherwise deal with the public, are armed with what to say, how to say it and how to respond when people ask questions your staff members are not equipped to answer – including knowing how to refer complicated questions to other members of staff when needed. Staying consistent with your messages is critical.
- Communicate your school’s commitment to protecting all students’ education and well-being.
- Emphasize the school’s commitment to safety and compliance with all legal obligations.
Why it matters
Schools are more than places of learning—they are community anchors that provide stability during uncertain times. By being prepared both to act and communicate, school leaders send the message to the community that they are taking these developments seriously and are taking steps both to comply with the law and protect the students they are charged with serving.
It’s time for America’s school leaders to do their homework.
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Hennes Communications has been ranked as one of the top U.S. crisis PR firms by Chambers and Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company in the world. Hennes Communications is one of only 18 communication consulting firms included on their list for 2024. For more information about how we can help your school or any other organization facing the situations described above, please contact us at 216-321-7774 or by email at info@crisiscommunications.com.
