Salt Lake City School District: No ICE in Schools
Strengthen protections, clarify procedures, and ensure consistent implementation across every school in the district.
What we are asking for
- Clarify the judicial warrant requirement — ensure staff know the difference between a judicial warrant and an administrative ICE document
- Standardize front office procedures across all schools with a written protocol and clear escalation path
- Train all front office staff and administrators so every school responds consistently
- Communicate clearly with families — in multiple languages, on an ongoing basis
Why it matters
- Salt Lake City has taken important steps — this effort builds on that foundation
- Without standardized training, individual schools may respond very differently to the same situation
- Some existing materials rely on assumptions about federal policy that have changed since 2025
- Families need clear, current, plain-language information — not just policy documents on a website
How we strengthen protections in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City has a stronger foundation than most districts. The goal here is consistent implementation — closing the gap between policy and practice.
Build on existing foundation
- Document what is already in place and identify specific gaps
- Engage families, educators, and community members who already know this district
Coordinate across organizations
- Connect the parent groups, immigrant support organizations, faith communities, and advocacy partners already active in Salt Lake City
- Share information and align on specific asks
Develop a shared strategy
- Identify board members most likely to champion stronger implementation
- Frame the ask around consistency, clarity, and student safety — not politics
Make a unified request
- Show up at board meetings as a coordinated coalition
- Request specific, concrete improvements — not just a general statement of values
What is happening now
- Salt Lake City School District has taken more steps than most Utah districts — public guidance exists and the district has expressed commitment to student safety and privacy
- However, existing guidance is informal: it has not been adopted as a formal board policy and may not be consistently communicated to staff across all schools
- Some district materials were developed under prior federal policy assumptions that have shifted significantly since early 2025
- There is no documented, standardized training for front office staff on what to do if immigration enforcement officers arrive
- Families — particularly newer arrivals, multilingual families, and communities with mixed immigration status — may still be unclear on what the district will actually do in practice
- Salt Lake City's diverse, multilingual population makes consistent, proactive communication especially important
For organizations and community leaders
Salt Lake City has a strong foundation. Working together across community organizations can help ensure policies are clearly implemented and consistently applied across all schools.
This is a coordinated effort with a clear focus:
- Document what is already in place and identify specific gaps
- Build a coalition of organizations with shared goals
- Develop clear, specific asks for the board and administration
- Show up together to make a unified request for stronger implementation
If your organization works with students, families, educators, or immigrant communities — or if you are simply a community member who cares about this issue — your voice matters in this effort.
Ways to participate:
- Join coalition planning conversations
- Help recruit community members and other organizations
- Provide a speaker for school board meetings
- Share this effort with your network
What you can do
Salt Lake City's board can strengthen and formalize protections at any meeting. Here is how to make that happen.
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Sign UpContact a board member
A brief, personal email to a board member asking for stronger, consistent implementation is more effective than it sounds. Board members read constituent mail.
Find Board Members ↗Attend a board meeting
Public comment gives you 2–3 minutes to speak directly to the board. Attending with others sends a stronger signal.
Full Meeting Schedule ↗Connect with local organizations
Parent groups, faith communities, immigrant support organizations, educator networks, and community members throughout Salt Lake City are all welcome in this effort. You do not need to belong to a specific group to get involved.
Get ConnectedShare this page
Know someone in Salt Lake City School District — a parent, teacher, or community leader? Send them here. More people means a stronger ask.
View this page →Salt Lake City has a strong foundation. Working together across community organizations can help ensure policies are clearly implemented and consistently applied across all schools.
We are bringing together parent groups, educators, faith communities, immigrant support organizations, and any community members who care about keeping schools safe — to make a coordinated, specific ask for stronger implementation.
Common questions
What is already in place?
Salt Lake City School District has taken meaningful steps that most Utah districts have not. The district has published public-facing guidance on immigration enforcement, expressed commitment to student privacy, and communicated a general posture of support for students regardless of immigration status.
This is a real foundation — and it is why the ask here is about strengthening and formalizing, not starting from scratch.
What would stronger implementation look like?
Stronger implementation means moving from informal guidance to a clear, board-adopted written policy that applies consistently across all Salt Lake City schools. Specifically:
- A clear, written standard requiring a judicial warrant (signed by a judge) for officer entry into non-public school areas or removal of a student — not just an administrative ICE document
- A standardized front office protocol so every school responds the same way
- Documented training for all front office staff and administrators — not just guidance on a website
- Proactive, multilingual family communication explaining what the district will do, in plain language
Is this legal?
Yes. Schools have the legal authority — and arguably the obligation — to require proper legal documentation before allowing access to students or student records.
- Plyler v. Doe (1982): Schools cannot deny education on the basis of immigration status, creating a duty to protect access to learning.
- FERPA: Schools are already legally required to protect student records from disclosure without proper legal authority.
- Fourth Amendment: Requiring a judicial warrant is consistent with constitutional standards that apply to government actors, including immigration enforcement.
- DHS Sensitive Locations Policy: Federal guidance already discourages enforcement at schools. A district policy formalizes what federal guidelines already acknowledge.
See the strategy page for detailed legal analysis.
What does local law enforcement have to do with schools?
Several Utah counties participate in 287(g) agreements — federal-local partnerships that authorize local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement functions. This means enforcement risk in Utah extends beyond ICE agents to include local sheriffs and police in everyday encounters.
A school district policy cannot override those agreements, but it can establish the school building as a distinct protected space with its own written rules — giving families a clear, reliable guarantee that the school operates differently.
Full strategic analysis
For detailed research, policy design guidance, gap analysis, and implementation tools, see the organizer strategy page.
Salt Lake City can lead the way.
The district already has a foundation. Formalizing and consistently implementing that foundation would make Salt Lake City one of the most protective districts in Utah — and a model for others.