社区黑料

School (in)Security is our biweekly briefing on the latest school safety news, vetted by Mark Keierleber.听Subscribe here.

The top campus security story this week is the resignation of Iowa鈥檚 largest school district superintendent, who was  on allegations he was living and working in the U.S. without authorization. 

In a 鈥渢argeted enforcement operation鈥澨�, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Ian Roberts, a 54-year-old native of Guyana, who has led Des Moines Public Schools since 2023.

The fast-moving chain of events raises questions about why ICE agents specifically sought the arrest of the public official and the city鈥檚 first Black schools superintendent, whom federal officials said had a previously unreported final order of removal issued by an immigration judge on May 29. Yesterday, he was accused of federal firearm charges for听.

The Trump administration has already听. The Justice Department announced Tuesday it would investigate Des Moines Public Schools to determine if it engaged in race-based hiring.听

In 2021, the district鈥檚听听said that out of Des Moines Public Schools鈥� 4,000 staff members, some 400 were Black. His comments were made as the district reflected on hiring听.

The unraveling of Roberts鈥� career is also听. The school board, whose vetting practices have come under scrutiny, released a letter this week saying it is 鈥渁lso a victim,鈥� after Roberts was accused of falsifying records about his immigration status and academic credentials.

搁辞产别谤迟蝉,听for his native Guyana who came to the U.S. in 1999听previously served in leadership roles at school districts in Pennsylvania and Missouri and at a major charter school network.听

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In the news

A TikTok post led to the arrest of a Kennewick, Washington, 14-year-old who officials say had guns, a color-coded map of his high school and a manifesto outlining plans to carry out a campus shooting. |听

In California, authorities say an anonymous tip thwarted a potential school shooting after a student posted 鈥渄etailed threats鈥� on social media including a 鈥渕apped-out plan.鈥� |听
The Education Department announced it would withhold more than $65 million in federal grants to the New York City, Chicago and Fairfax, Virginia, school districts for upholding equity policies designed to support transgender and Black youth. |听

Campus speech at the forefront: More than 350 complaints have been submitted to the Texas education department against public school employees accused of publishing social media posts that praised the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. | 

• The Los Angeles Unified School District faces accusations that its social media policy,听which allows educators to ban parents from campus for making threatening or racist online comments about school officials, violates the First Amendment. |听
  
• 鈥楾ruly scandalous鈥�:听The Trump administration engaged in the 鈥渦nconstitutional suppression of free speech鈥� when federal immigration enforcement officials arrested and sought to deport international college students for their pro-Palestinian activism. |听
  
• A new PEN America report warns of a 鈥渄isturbing normalization of censorship鈥� in public schools where book bans have risen sharply in the last few years. The 1962 novel听A Clockwork Orange听by Anthony Burgess topped the list. |听听
  
• Lawrence, Kansas, school officials were accused of censoring high school journalists and intimidating their adviser in violation of state law after current and former students filed a federal lawsuit alleging the district鈥檚 use of a digital student surveillance tool violated their privacy and press freedom rights. |听
  
  • The student activity monitoring tool Gaggle, which flags keywords like 鈥渒ill鈥� and 鈥渂omb,鈥� 鈥渉as helped our staff intervene and save lives,鈥� the Lawrence district says. But students say the system subjected them to false allegations. |听
    
  • 社区黑料 throwback:听Meet the gatekeepers of students鈥� private lives. |听

鈥楶laces of care, not chaos鈥�: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law new rules that require federal immigration enforcement officers to show a warrant or court order before entering a school campus or questioning students. | 

Minnesota鈥檚 red flag gun law, which allows authorities to confiscate firearms from people with violent plans, has been used to prevent school shootings but its use is inconsistent, an investigation found. |听

A middle school boy from New York was arrested on allegations of catfishing classmates by impersonating a girl online, convincing male classmates to send him sexually revealing photographs and extorting them for cash or gift cards. | 

The Trump administration plans to overhaul a student loan forgiveness program for employees at nonprofits that officials claim are engaged in 鈥渋llegal activities鈥� 鈥� a justification that could be used to target organizations that serve immigrants and transgender youth. | 

A Michigan school district, where four elementary school girls said they were groped by a classmate on the playground, is accused of waiting eight days to report the incident to the police. | 

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Emotional Support

社区黑料 will meet for a company summit in Minneapolis next week. Matilda wasn鈥檛 invited, but she couldn鈥檛 care less.

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