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Students began asking questions soon after President Donald Trump took office.

鈥淗ow old do I have to be to adopt my siblings?鈥� an area student asked a teacher, worried that their parents could be deported.

鈥淐an I attend school virtually?鈥� asked another student, reasoning that they would be safer from being targeted by immigration agents if they studied online at home.

A straight-A student from a South American country stunned and saddened her teacher by saying, 鈥淪o when are they going to send me back?鈥�

鈥淐an I borrow a laminator?鈥澛� asked another, who wanted to make a stack of 鈥淜now Your Rights鈥� flyers sturdier. High schoolers have been passing the guides out, informing people what to do if stopped and questioned about immigration status.

Trump campaigned on a vow to of undocumented immigrants, boasting of .

What that might mean for the children of targeted immigrants, or whether they would be rounded up, has been the subject of speculation, rumor and fear.

In early March, the Trump administration began at a Texas center, with the intention of deporting the children and adults together.

Kansas City area school districts are responding, training teachers and staff on protocols in case immigration agents try to enter a school and sending notices to parents.

鈥淣ot every school district, not every charter school, not every private school, has addressed the issue,鈥� said Christy J. Moreno with Revoluci贸n Educativa, a Kansas City nonprofit advocating for .

Parents in some local schools have had their fears calmed through district communication.

鈥淭here have been some districts that have been a little bit more public about their stance on this, but in general terms, they鈥檙e not being very public,鈥� said Moreno, an advocacy and impact officer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 because of all the executive orders and the fear that federal funding will be taken away.鈥�

Indeed, when asked to comment, most area districts declined or pointed to district policy posted online.

Immigrant children鈥檚 right to attend public school, K-12, is constitutionally protected.

A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision, , guarantees it regardless of immigration status.

The also ensures that schools do not ask the immigration status of children as they enroll, something that area districts have emphasized in communication to parents.

The Shawnee Mission School District relies on policies that are the responsibility of building administrators if any external agency, such as law enforcement, requests access to or information about a student.

鈥淲e strongly believe that every child deserves free and unfettered access to a quality public education, regardless of immigration status,鈥� said David A. Smith, chief communications officer, in a statement. 鈥淲hile we cannot control the actions of others, we can control how we respond.鈥�

Schools were once understood to be off limits for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Schools were considered to be along with hospitals and places of worship.

that nearly 14-year-old policy by executive order immediately upon taking office in January.

In February, the the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, arguing that the schools鈥� duty to educate students was hindered by the change.

Students were missing school out of fear, the Colorado educators said. And administrators and teachers were forced to redirect resources to train staff on how to react in case immigration agents entered school grounds.

On March 7, a federal judge sided with Homeland Security in denying the injunction.

The ruling gleaned some clarity for schools, with the government noting that the current policy requires 鈥渟ome level of approval on when to conduct an action鈥� in a school.

But that guardrail doesn鈥檛 negate anxieties, the judge acknowledged.

In the Kansas City area, one mother, with two children in public school, indicated that her district鈥檚 support was too hesitant.

鈥淚 know that the districts at this time have not come out in support of immigrant families in these difficult times,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are just being very diplomatic, saying that education comes first.鈥�

Plyler v. Doe: Constitutionally protected, but still threatened

isn鈥檛 as universally understood as Brown v. Board of Education.

The U.S. Supreme Court case guaranteeing immigrant children鈥檚 right to a public K-12 education is a landmark decision, said Rebeca Shackleford, director of federal government relations for , a national nonprofit advocating for educational equity.

鈥淜ids are losing out already, even though they still have their right to this education,鈥� Shackleford said. 鈥淭here are kids who are not in school today because their parents are holding them back.鈥�

The class-action case originated in Texas.

In 1975, the state legislature said school districts could deny enrollment to children who weren鈥檛 鈥渓egally admitted鈥� into the U.S., withholding state funds for those children鈥檚 education.

Two years later, the Tyler district decided to charge $1,000 tuition to Mexican students who couldn鈥檛 meet the legally admitted requirement. James Plyler was the superintendent of the Tyler Independent School District.

The case was brought by the .

Lower courts ruled for the children and their parents, noting that the societal costs of not educating the children outweighed the state鈥檚 harm. The lower courts also ruled the state could not preempt federal immigration law.

Eventually the case was taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1982 upheld the rights of the students to receive a K-12 education, 5-4, citing the 14th Amendment鈥檚 equal-protection clause.

鈥淏y denying these children a basic education,鈥� the court said, 鈥渨e deny them the ability to live within the structure of our civic institutions, and foreclose any realistic possibility that they will contribute in even the smallest way to the progress of our Nation.鈥�

The court also said that holding children accountable for their parents鈥� actions 鈥渄oes not comport with fundamental conceptions of justice.鈥�

There by state legislatures to challenge the ruling.

In 2011, Alabama saw a dramatic drop in Latino student attendance, even among U.S.-born children, when the state ordered districts to determine the immigration status of students as they enrolled.

The law was later permanently blocked by a federal court.

passage of a law similar to the Texas law that led to the Plyler ruling.

The proposed law would allow districts to charge undocumented students tuition, and would require districts to check the legal status of students as they enrolled.

The bill recently passed out of an education committee.

The chilling effect of such proposals, like current calls for mass deportations, can be widespread for children, advocates said.

鈥淗ow can you learn if you鈥檙e worried about whether or not your parents are going to be home when you get home from school?鈥� Shackleford said.

Teachers nationwide are seeing the impact as students worry for themselves, their parents and friends.

鈥淚 think sometimes we forget that the words that we use as adults and the messages that we send are affecting our kids,鈥� Shackleford, a former teacher, said. 鈥淎nd no one feels that more than teachers and classroom educators, because they’re right there in the rooms and hearing this and seeing the pain of their students.鈥�

Information vacuums contribute to rumors

Voids in information leave room for misinformation, which is quickly spread by social media.

Local advocates for immigrant rights have been tamping down rumors about raids, especially in regard to schools.

There have not been any reported incidents involving ICE agents inside or on local K-12 school grounds.

But in February, near a Kansas City school, presumably as he was getting ready to drop a child off for the day鈥檚 lessons.

Homeland Security officials arrested a man they said had previously been deported. Staff of the Guadalupe Centers Elementary & Pre-K School acted quickly, escorting the child into the building.

For districts, managing communications can be a balance.

North Kansas City Schools began getting questions from parents about ICE and Customs and Border Protection early this year.

On Jan. 24, the district sent a notice to parents emphasizing policies that had been in place for several years.

鈥淚n general, law enforcement has the same limited level of access to student records as members of the public with no special permissions,鈥� according to the notice. 鈥淟aw enforcement agents are not permitted to speak with nor interact with students without a valid subpoena, court order or explicit parent permission unless it鈥檚 an emergency situation.鈥�

Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Collier addressed immigration in a late January board meeting.

Collier said that work had begun 鈥渂ehind the scenes鈥� after Trump rescinded the sensitive-places policy.

鈥淲hat we didn鈥檛 want to do was to get out front and begin to alarm everybody, to create anxiety,鈥� Collier said, noting the 鈥渇eelings of heaviness and in some cases feelings of hopelessness.鈥�

All staff would be trained, including legal and security teams, in identifying valid court orders or warrants.

She emphasized the emotional well-being of students. And the district has online.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to make it to the other side of this,鈥� Collier told her board. 鈥淪o hold on. Don鈥檛 lose hope.鈥�

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

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