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ICE officials will need legal authorization to enter Nashville public schools, district says

Samantha MaxWPLN
Nashville college student Nico Gardner asks local leaders to sever ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a North Nashville protest in 2019. ICE will no longer refrain from entering schools, churches and hospitals when making immigration arrests.
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The new administration of President Donald Trump says Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer refrain from entering churches, hospitals and schools when making immigration arrests. But what does that mean for students in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS)?

The district says it will require legal authorization from immigration agents before they can access students or their school records. Those records are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which keeps them private in most situations. If such a request came up, lawyers for the district would review it before granting the agents access, and would inform the parents of any student involved.

District spokesperson Sean Braisted says the district does not collect information about the immigration status of its students.

In a statement to WPLN, he wrote that MNPS “prioritizes the safety, privacy, and well-being of all students.”

Char Daston

Char Daston is a reporter and newscast writer for WPLN. Char got his start in public radio as an intern at WYSO public radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he answered questions sent in by listeners for a program called WYSO Curious. He went on to work at St. Louis Public Radio and WBEZ Chicago, where he produced the daily talk show Reset and reported for the education desk. His work has also appeared in Curious City, Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Char attended college and grad school at the University of Chicago, where he wrote his master’s thesis on the politics of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As a journalist, he is interested in the ways big political decisions and historical events shape our everyday lives. He loves to learn about education, the arts, activism and the ways people help one another. Unable to settle on one creative project, Char enjoys writing poetry, plays and video essays in his spare time. You’ll likely find him rushing to choir rehearsal or seeking out Nashville’s best Thai and Korean food.

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