With the inauguration of President Trump stoking fears of mass deportations among migrants living in the city, the Department of Education has been holding online and in-person meetings to remind school staff, superintendents and parents about the rights of students and the rules for engaging with federal law enforcement.

Stephanie Lukas, principal of P.S. 51 in Hell’s Kitchen, a school serving children from nearby hotel shelters housing migrants, said the city does not track the immigration status of its students.

What You Need To Know

  • Public schools do not allow non-local law enforcement agencies like ICE inside unless the DOE's legal team decides it's necessary

  • The DOE held refresher trainings on that policy for principals, superintendents and other school staff

  • The DOE has also held "Know Your Rights" trainings for parents of public school children

“We don’t have any way to track people’s immigration status. It’s not part of our registration information, it’s not something that we ask, and it’s not written down anywhere, so we couldn’t provide that information to anybody,” Lukas said.

Lukas attended one of the virtual trainings held last week, which she said was a refresher of existing policies her school already follows.

“We’re not in the business of making anybody else’s job easier. Our job is to educate and keep children safe. So when any kind of law enforcement comes to the building, they need to make sure they have done their due diligence,” Lukas said.

Schools ask law enforcement officers to provide documents, which are then passed to the DOE’s legal counsel. The office reviews the documents and decides whether officers can enter.

The refresher training comes amid fears that parents may stop bringing their children to school, something Lukas already encountered at P.S. 51 in the days following Trump’s election last November.

“We had some families tell us that they were not sending their child to school because they were afraid they would be separated from them. We were able to let families know that would not be happening in November,” she said.

Those students returned to class, but questions are popping up again and were discussed at a PTA meeting Thursday morning.

“I think some parents are nervous, but they also know we are a place that is going to follow all the procedures and their children are safe here. Nothing’s going to happen while they’re here at school,” P.S. 51 Assistant Principal Diane Shatten said.

The city is also holding trainings for parents to help them understand the rights migrants have in the city. More information can be found here.