Birmingham City Schools see drop in Hispanic student attendance
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The decision by the Trump administration to rescind the Biden administration's guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in or near areas considered 'sensitive,' including schools, has prompted a response from Birmingham City Schools.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan issued a letter to Birmingham city families last week assuring them that 'student safety' remains their top priority.
Terry Lamar, Chief of Staff for Birmingham City Schools, said they have not had any disruptions as it relates to anyone coming into their schools.
However, they have seen a drop in attendance.
'We have noticed that we've had a drop in some of our Latino X students population,' Lamar said. 'It's something that we are monitoring at this time. We're watching to see, but we're looking forward to having that number decrease as well.'
According to the district, 14% of the enrolled student population is Hispanic.
The letter from the district states that they protect student privacy, as mandated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act known as FERPA.
Education attorney Shane Sears said parents may not understand what that actually means:
'I think they could have taken it one step further and said we are not going to provide your child's information to law enforcement even if asked.'
He said there's also a fear that school resource officers may in some way provide information to other law enforcement agencies.
January_BCS_Family_LetterDownload
Sears believes the chance of a warrant being issued for a student at a school by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is extremely low.
'Their children are safe at school, and they are getting their basic needs met,' Sears explained. 'If they're not in school, for kids who have undocumented parents, they may not be getting three meals a day, they may not be getting medical care like they would be getting if they were in school.'
Carlos Aleman, CEO of the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama known as HICA, said his office has been getting a lot of phone calls.
'There is a concern among families as to the safety of their children, and thus what we're seeing and we're hearing is a reluctance to send some of these students to school,' Aleman said.
Aleman said they're encouraging young people to go to school.
'I think that what we understand and what we've heard is that immigration officials will not necessarily be going into schools, but if that changes then we'll have to evaluate the situation,' he explained.
He said they encourage families to send their children to school to avoid other issues like truancy.
Afrika Parchman, General Counsel for Birmingham City Schools, explained what might happen in the event that ICE would arrive on a school campus.
According to the letter, staff are instructed to immediately contact a school administrator.
As to what type of warrant the district would respond to, Parchman said they would refer the matter to legal counsel on a case-by-case basis.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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