Prohibits immigration enforcement in school settings; prohibits all public and charter schools from allowing law enforcement officials inside school property to access a student, except to address an imminent safety situation or if they have an appropriate judicial warrant or judicial order.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5373A
SPONSOR: Cruz TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil rights law and the education law, in relation
to protecting students, faculty, and staff from immigration enforcement
while attending or participating in school activities
PURPOSE:
To ensure that students, faculty, and staff are protected from civil
immigration arrest while attending school or participating in school-re-
lated activities and to establish clear guidelines on law enforcement
access to school property.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
*Section 1: Establishes the short title of the bill as the "Protect Our
Schools Act."
*Section 2: Adds § 29 to the Civil Rights.Law, which:
*Protects students, teachers, staff, and visitors from civil arrest
while traveling to or from school, attending classes, or participating
in school activities.
*Prohibits civil arrests on school premises without a judicial warrant.
*Declares unauthorized civil arrests at schools to be unlawful, consti-
tuting false imprisonment.
*Grants individuals the right to file civil lawsuits for violations and
allows the Attorney General to enforce compliance.
*Section 3: Adds § 409-o to the Education Law, which:
*Requires school administrators to prevent unauthorized law enforcement
activity on school grounds.
*Prohibits public and charter schools from allowing law enforcement
access to students without a judicial warrant or imminent safety
concern.
*Mandates school officials to notify parents/guardians if a student is
subject to a judicial warrant, unless prohibited by the order.
*Prevents law enforcement from using school facilities for immigration
enforcement unless legally required.
*Restricts school resource officers from accessing or redisclosing
student immigration records without a judicial order.
*Requires the Commissioner of Education to issue regulations and train-
ing for school personnel on handling law enforcement requests.
*Directs the Department of Education to publish annual reports on civil
arrests attempted or conducted at schools.
*Section 4: Includes a severability clause to ensure remaining
provisions remain in effect if any part of the act is invalidated.
*Section 5: Establishes the act's immediate effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Schools are meant to be safe environments where students can focus on
learning, yet recent incidents of immigration enforcement and civil
arrests on school properties have created fear and uncertainty among
students, families, and educators. The presence of law enforcement
executing civil immigration arrests-particularly without judicial
warrants-disrupts the school environment and places undue stress on
vulnerable students, including immigrant youth and mixed-status fami-
lies. This climate of fear discourages school attendance, impairs
academic performance, and weakens trust in schools as places of learning
and support.
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has already issued
guidelines advising schools on how to protect students from unwarranted
law enforcement actions, particularly in the context of immigration
enforcement. This bill codifies many of those existing NYSED guidelines
into law, ensuring that all schools consistently follow best practices
to protect students from undue law enforcement interference. Codifica-
tion is essential to prevent these protections from being subject to
shifting administrative policies or discretionary enforcement.
Federal immigration policies and enforcement practices have led to
heightened anxiety in immigrant communities, with reports of school-
based enforcement actions negatively impacting student attendance and
engagement. These actions disproportionately affect communities of
color, deepen educational inequities, and deter parents from engaging
with schools due to fear of law enforcement encounters. When students
feel unsafe, their ability to focus, participate, and thrive in an
academic setting is significantly hindered.
This bill seeks to address these concerns by ensuring that:
*Students, faculty, and staff are shielded from civil arrests at school
unless supported by a judicial warrant. This prevents arbitrary enforce-
ment actions from disrupting learning environments and promotes
students' rights to education without fear.
*Schools serve as protected spaces, where law enforcement cannot conduct
civil arrests without explicit legal authorization, ensuring that educa-
tional institutions remain free from undue policing and enforcement
actions.
*Parents and guardians are notified if law enforcement seeks to detain a
student, reinforcing transparency and allowing families to seek legal
counsel and advocacy when necessary.
*Clear legal standards are established for law enforcement access to
school grounds, preventing unchecked discretion and maintaining consist-
ency across school districts.
*School personnel are equipped with the necessary training to handle law
enforcement requests properly, ensuring they understand and uphold
students' rights while complying with legal requirements.
Similar protections have been adopted in other jurisdictions to prevent
civil enforcement actions from interfering with education. New York has
a duty to ensure its schools remain safe havens for students, regardless
of their immigration status or background. By codifying these
protections into law, this bill reinforces that commitment and ensures
that schools are protected spaces where students can focus on their
education without fear of civil immigration arrest or detention.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal administrative costs anticipated for compliance and reporting
requirements:
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately upon becoming law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5373--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CRUZ, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, TAPIA, SIMONE, HEVESI,
ZACCARO, BURROUGHS, DINOWITZ, CUNNINGHAM, LASHER, MEEKS, WRIGHT,
LAVINE, BURDICK, LUNSFORD, DE LOS SANTOS, RIVERA, TORRES, RAGA, ROME-
RO, McDONALD, SIMON, SHIMSKY, TAYLOR -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law and the education law, in relation
to protecting students, faculty, and staff from immigration enforce-
ment while attending or participating in school activities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "protect our schools act".
3 § 2. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 29 to
4 read as follows:
5 § 29. Immigration enforcement; protection in school settings. 1. A
6 person attending, employed at, or otherwise lawfully present at a public
7 or charter school, including students, parents, teachers and school
8 staff is privileged from immigration enforcement while in non-public
9 portions of school grounds or any property managed or operated by a
10 school district, unless the enforcement action is supported by a valid
11 court order or judicial warrant issued by an independent judge appointed
12 pursuant to Article III of the United States constitution or federal
13 magistrate judge appointed pursuant to 28 USC § 631 commanding the
14 arrest of such individual.
15 2. Administrative warrants, immigration detainers, and all other docu-
16 ments besides a valid court order or judicial warrant are insufficient
17 for immigration enforcement in non-public portions of school grounds.
18 3. It shall be considered unlawful and constitute unlawful imprison-
19 ment for any person to willfully violate this section by executing or
20 assisting in an arrest prohibited under this section, provided, however,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09018-04-5
A. 5373--A 2
1 that nothing in this subdivision shall affect any right or defense of
2 any person, school resource officer, police officer, peace officer or
3 public officer acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to maintain safety
4 in school settings.
5 4. A person whose rights under this section are violated or may be
6 violated may bring a civil action for equitable and declaratory relief
7 if such person has reasonable cause to believe a violation of this
8 section has occurred or may occur. Additionally, the attorney general
9 may bring a civil action in the name of the state to obtain appropriate
10 equitable and declaratory relief if the attorney general has reasonable
11 cause to believe a violation of this section has occurred or may occur.
12 5. Any successful action pursuant to this section may result in the
13 recovery of costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
14 6. As used in this section:
15 (a) "Administrative warrant" shall mean a warrant that is prepared and
16 issued by federal immigration authorities and directs federal officials
17 to arrest a noncitizen for removal or removal proceedings.
18 (b) "Immigration detainer" shall mean a request, typically issued by
19 federal immigration authorities to local law enforcement agencies, to
20 keep an individual in custody for up to forty-eight hours beyond when
21 the individual is scheduled for release.
22 (c) "Immigration enforcement" means the enforcement of any civil
23 provision of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act or any
24 provision of law that penalizes a person's presence in, entry into, or
25 reentry into the United States.
26 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 409-o to
27 read as follows:
28 § 409-o. Authority of public and charter schools to maintain a safe
29 educational environment. 1. Public and charter school personnel shall
30 take appropriate action to prevent unauthorized law enforcement activity
31 on school grounds, to protect students' rights to a secure learning
32 environment.
33 2. All common, union free, central, central high school, city school
34 districts, boards of cooperative educational services, and charter
35 schools are prohibited from allowing law enforcement officials inside
36 school property to access a student or other person for immigration
37 enforcement or to inquire about citizenship, immigration status, nation-
38 ality, or country of origin, except to address an imminent safety situ-
39 ation or if they present a valid court order or judicial warrant issued
40 by an independent judge appointed pursuant to Article III of the United
41 States constitution or federal magistrate judge appointed pursuant to 28
42 USC § 631.
43 3. If presented with a valid court order or judicial warrant related
44 to immigration enforcement, before taking any other action, the school
45 personnel must ask for identification from any law enforcement officers
46 presenting a court order or judicial warrant and provide the school's
47 superintendent with the court order or judicial warrant, and such super-
48 intendent shall follow all protocols and guidance issued by the commis-
49 sioner related to an immigration enforcement action.
50 4. A school shall immediately notify the parent or guardian of the
51 student who is the subject of a court order or judicial warrant author-
52 izing an immigration enforcement arrest unless specifically prohibited
53 by such judicial warrant or court order.
54 5. No resources of any public or charter school shall be utilized for
55 immigration enforcement, including the time of school personnel and
56 school resource officers and use of school property.
A. 5373--A 3
1 6. School personnel, including school resource officers, shall be
2 prohibited from disclosing student records containing immigration status
3 or related information to immigration authorities.
4 7. (a) The commissioner shall promulgate all rules and regulations
5 necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this section,
6 including but not limited to, training for school personnel on handling
7 law enforcement requests, protocols for if law enforcement refuses to
8 identify themselves or disregards other school personnel efforts to
9 abide by this subdivision, and appropriate methods for notifying a
10 parent or guardian of a student who is the target of an immigration
11 enforcement action.
12 (b) The department shall publish an annual report on enforcement
13 actions affecting schools, detailing the number and nature of civil
14 arrests attempted or conducted on school premises and their outcome, as
15 well as all communications between immigration authorities and school
16 personnel and their content.
17 8. Public and charter schools shall publicly post information about
18 the rights of students, staff, and parents under the provisions of
19 this section, as well as other information related to immigration
20 enforcement in schools as deemed fit by the commissioner.
21 § 4. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
22 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
23 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the
24 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof,
25 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para-
26 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy
27 in which the judgment shall have been rendered.
28 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
