The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) has provided guidance to school districts on how to respond to a recent directive from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expanding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigations to include those areas considered “sensitive” such as churches and schools.
The DHS directive reads:
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.

“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”
The KSDE response:
The Kansas State Department of Education is aware of concerns raised because of the recent announcement that certain policies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have changed. Specifically, the federal government revoked the directive issued in 2021 that limited conducting immigration enforcement actions in or near protected areas such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship, except in specific limited circumstances.

Tuesday’s action did not change the law, nor did it increase the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s authority. To that end, we remind school personnel that their ultimate responsibility is the education and protection of all students. All students have a constitutionally protected right to receive an education. Schools are advised to continue to follow the law and abide by their board-approved policies regarding investigations and/or arrests on school grounds. KSDE wishes to assure school personnel, parents, and the students of Kansas that we will not share any student data without a warrant, subpoena, or other lawfully issued court order.
At this time, we believe the best thing schools can provide to their respective communities is an assurance that they will continue to comply with all state and federal laws protecting student information and student safety. We also suggest schools update emergency contact information for all families.
The directive included these recommendations to districts:
- Schools should ensure emergency contact information is updated for all families.
- Ensure all school personnel follow the district’s board-approved policies regarding investigations and/or arrests on school grounds.
- Schools should issue a reminder that no student information can be shared without parental consent or a warrant, subpoena, or other lawfully issued court order.”
Some Kansas school board members asked about the implications of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) on the Trump administration’s executive order during a recent webinar announcing a new free legal hotline for school board members.
Attorney Kriegshauser said that school board members must understand that FERPA was created to facilitate better communication with parents, not keep information about their children away from them. He recounted a recent case illustrating the frustration faced by both board members and attorneys in the interpretation of federal law:
“We had a case out of Geary County two years ago where basically counsel for the school board was flipping the Act on its head. FERPA is designed to allow open communications with parents about their students and be engaged in the educational process of the students. In federal court, they (opposing counsel) were actually asserting that is actually prevented parents from getting certain information. The federal judge in the case rightfully asked them: ‘Have you read FERPA?’. They were trying to assert it was doing the opposite of what it was attended.”