Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials heard students loud and clear this month, giving their full support towards their act of peaceful defiance.
After the Feb. 6 walkout by both Samohi and Malibu High School students to protest the orders of the Donald Trump administration, SMMUSD staff had a chance to applaud the group for speaking out in favor of the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants.
“I want to acknowledge and commend these students for exercising their right to protest … I hear you, the board hears you, and (our staff) hears you … you put your civic lessons into action and we respect and support your right to do so,” SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said at a recent Board of Education meeting.
Shelton, a former social studies teacher, added that students should be encouraged to take next steps like registering to vote and continuing to make their voices heard. Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association President Claudia Bautista-Nicholas, who was at the City Hall protest, was likewise proud of what she saw from the students’ pursuit of a fair education.
“(Students) demand a commitment for diversity, equity and inclusion,” she said. “They insist on their right to learn critical thinking skills, to engage with accurate and comprehensive historical narratives, and to be part of a school system that values their identities and experiences. I was humbled to hear their calls for action.”
With the Trump administration giving American schools just over a week to eliminate diversity initiatives, or risk having federal money taken, Bautista-Nicholas promised students that teachers will “continue to teach truth in history” and strive to create inclusive classroom environments.
“We will not falter in the face of adversity,” she added. “We will listen to our students, our union will support our teachers and we will advocate for the necessary changes that will allow our schools to be places of safety, knowledge and empowerment.”
One of the students’ top concerns has been shared by families and SMMUSD officials, that being the Trump move to overturn a “sensitive locations” policy. The revision would allow immigration enforcement to take place in locations like schools, a decision Shelton said he was “deeply disappointed” in.
“Our schools are mandated to ensure that no student is denied enrollment … or faced with barriers to their educational opportunities based on their or their family’s immigration status,” Shelton said.
The Superintendent added that SMMUSD is “extremely protective” of data, and does not collect any documentation about citizenship or social security numbers from families.
SMMUSD staff has been in communication with principals, giving them talking points on how to communicate with families during this time, as well as guidelines for “responding to potential immigration enforcement situations” using the California Department of Justice as a model. Communication is also available via a new Immigration Resources & Support page on the district website, providing families with key resources.
Santa Monica is not the only school system fighting back about the sensitive locations policy overturn, as on Feb. 12, Denver Public Schools filed suit in the U.S. District Court on the matter against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero told Chalkbeat Colorado that the feeling of potential immigration enforcement in their schools “is just going to really cripple the way we function.”
