In survey, US school principals describe ‘climate of distress’ and declines in student attendance amid crackdowns
Immigrant students across the US have experienced increased bullying, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns causing declines in attendance and a “culture of fear” among immigrant students in public schools, according to a new survey of high school principals.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (Idea) conducted a “nationally representative” survey of more than 600 principals about the toll of raids and deportations, and how schools were responding.
Many principals described a “climate of distress”, the report found, with 70.4% reporting that students from immigrant families have “expressed concerns about their well-being or the well-being of their families”. A majority of public high schools experienced declines in attendance and learning of students from immigrant families, the report said, with 57.8% of principals reporting that immigrant parents and guardians had “left the community” during the school year.
Some principals reported that they were “unsure what had happened to a few of their students from immigrant families”, the report said. And 63.8% of principals said students had missed school “due to policies or political rhetoric related to immigrants”.
