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Indianapolis Public Schools has rescinded resolutions signaling support for undocumented students following a lawsuit from state Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Instead, a new proposed policy on student access, safety, and privacy says the district will continue to protect the confidentiality of student records and information while providing “equal access to public education” for all students who live within the district — regardless of immigration status.
The proposal comes in the wake of a November lawsuit from Rokita’s office that claims the district impeded federal immigration enforcement. Rokita alleged that IPS policies hindered the deportation of a “Honduran national” who opted to voluntarily leave the country with his son, an IPS student.
Attorneys for IPS have said in court that the district would adopt a new policy that would render the state’s lawsuit moot. The board is expected to vote on the policy proposal at its meeting in February, according to board president Angelia Moore.
The updates could ultimately change little in how the district serves and protects undocumented students, whose rights to education and privacy are already protected by a string of state and federal laws and a U.S. Supreme Court case. The lawsuit, however, claims the district policy violates a state law that prohibits government entities from restricting immigration enforcement.
Neither IPS nor Rokita’s office immediately responded to a request for comment. School board president Angelia Moore declined to comment on the proposed policy, citing the ongoing litigation.
New resolution maintains IPS support for all students
At a retreat on Saturday, the IPS school board rescinded two prior resolutions supporting undocumented students. One was adopted early in President Donald Trump’s first term, and the other was adopted early in his second term, amid high-profile and controversial immigration enforcement efforts.
One 2017 resolution stated the district’s support for creating a safe place for all students regardless of immigration status. It directed employees not to assist immigration enforcement efforts “unless legally required and authorized to do so by the Superintendent.”
Another 2025 resolution reaffirmed this commitment to all students.
But the resolution to rescind these prior commitments still maintains that the district supports all students and employees. It also references a variety of state and federal laws to protect immigrant families, including the federal Families and Educational Rights Privacy Act, known as FERPA, which restricts the ability of schools to provide student information to outside parties.
The resolution also references the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure. Legal experts say Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can only enter school grounds under certain circumstances.
And the resolution references the 1982 Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe that undocumented students have a right to public education.
The proposed IPS policy states that IPS will operate within the legal framework provided by the United States Constitution, the state constitution, federal and state civil rights laws, federal education privacy laws, and Indiana statutes on public education.
The superintendent will adopt training and protocols for staff regarding student privacy and requests from outside agencies seeking information or access to students, the proposed policy states.
Rokita’s ICE lawsuit hinges on deportation flight
Rokita’s lawsuit alleges that an IPS student, the son of a Honduran national, went to school on the morning of his father’s scheduled deportation flight. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement later contacted IPS to “help the father take custody of his son,” the lawsuit claims.
The district said it would not release the child to an ICE officer without a judicial warrant or court order, the lawsuit states.
“ICE responded that it simply was asking that the son be released to the father so that they could depart the country as he had agreed to do and that such action did not require a court order,” the lawsuit states.
Rokita’s lawsuit targeted several district policies, including the 2017 resolution.
His office has previously argued that FERPA does permit the disclosure of some information, such as directory information, that could be related to a student’s immigration status. He has also argued that school officials could still give consent for law enforcement to enter school grounds without violating the Fourth Amendment.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
