With the current political climate characterized by high levels of partisan polarization, it came as no surprise when we pulled stats for our most read stories of 2025 that the top four discussed how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations are impacting schools.
At the beginning of the year, President Donald Trump revoked a directive implemented in 2011 barring ICE and Border Patrol officers from arresting undocumented immigrants in “sensitive” areas such as hospitals, schools, and places of worship, sending school leaders scrambling for guidance on how to respond if agents come to their campus.
Also earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order calling for Secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education as a means to return power over education to states and local communities.
Both decisions have been met with fierce debate, and it’s showing in our stats. Here are the top K-12 Campus Safety stories from this year.
ICE in K-12 Schools
#1: Oklahoma Governor Rejects Proposal to Collect Students’ Immigration Status
In February, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said he would stop a proposed plan to collect the immigration status of public school students. The proposal, backed by State Superintendent Ryan Walters, would have require parents or legal guardians to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status of their children when enrolling them in public schools, AP reported.
While the plan would not have prevented students without legal status from enrolling or keep them from attending school, it would have required districts to record the number of students for whom proof of citizenship was not provided and to report those numbers, excluding personally identifiable information, to the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
The proposed rule was unanimously approved by the State Board of Education in January but required the governor’s approval before it could take effect.
“Collecting 6, 7, 8-year-old kids’ addresses and immigration status in the state of Oklahoma, that’s not a public safety issue,” said Stitt, a Republican who says he strongly opposes illegal immigration. “Let’s go after the people that are committing crimes, and let’s not terrorize and make our kids not show up for school.”
#2: ICE in Schools: Districts, State Leaders Issue Guidelines for Dealing with ICE Agents
Back in January, Boston-based immigration attorney Annelise Araujo told CBS News that in the days after Trump first took office, she received dozens of messages each day from concerned and befuddled clients.
“There is a sense of fear in the general population and not just from undocumented immigrants,” Araujo said. “‘What if ICE comes to my kids’ school? I’m really scared of what my kids are going to experience,’” she recalled clients asking. “I have gotten calls from people who are scared about what will happen to their employees.”
To try and dissuade concerns regarding ICE raids in schools, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell published a series of guidelines for schools to follow if approached by ICE agents. Should an agent ask to speak with a student, the guidance instructs teachers to immediately notify the school’s superintendent, the impacted student’s guardians, and the school’s legal counsel to discuss a plan of action.
New York City Public Schools also issued guidance on how schools should interact with ICE agents if they show up at their buildings.
#3: Border Patrol Agents Board Bus Carrying New Mexico Students to Swim Meet
On Feb. 21, 2025, it was reported that U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a charter bus carrying Las Cruces High School students on their way to a swim meet in Albuquerque.
According to a statement from U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez’s office, students and coaches were aboard the bus when it was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint. The situation reportedly escalated after agents questioned the bus driver, who was unable to respond in English. Despite efforts by the coaches to explain the situation, one agent boarded the bus and proceeded to demand information from the students, leaving them visibly shaken, Vasquez claims.
“Harassing and frightening children does not make New Mexico safer,” Vasquez said in a news release. “No student should have to fear law enforcement while traveling to a school event.”
A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson defended the agents’ actions, stating that the unmarked charter bus, which had no school decals, was subject to routine inspection as part of standard Border Patrol checkpoint procedures in the El Paso Sector
#4: Trump Revokes Policy Barring ICE Raids at Sensitive Locations
On Jan. 21, 2025, President Donald Trump revoked a directive barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol officers from making arrests in “sensitive” areas.
The policy had been in place since 2011 and has been respected to some extent by the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. Although the current policy places restrictions on making arrests in schools, hospitals, and churches, ICE agents can still conduct raids in these locations under special circumstances when there is an imminent threat.
Education Department Dismantling
#5: Trump to Issue Executive Order to Dismantle Education Department
On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to close the U.S. Department of Education. The department laid off 50% of its workforce leading up to the announcement.
A June analysis showed the Education Department was paying more than $7 million a month to the employees who were forced to go on administrative leave. The analysis also calculated that the department had already paid $21 million to the employees who hadn’t been able to work in three months.
Although fully dismantling the entire education department would require Congressional approval, President Trump has made additional significant changes in recent months. In November, the department started the process of transferring several programs and responsibilities to other government agencies, including the Interior Department, the Labor Department, Health and Human Services, and the State Department.
Here’s a link to all Education Department articles.
Honorable Mentions
While not in the top five, two other topics were wildly popular among our readers: cell phone bans and arming teachers. Here are the most read articles related to those topics.
#6: Which States Have Banned Cell Phones in Schools?
The list of states that have implemented cell phone bans has grown significantly this year. As of Dec. 2025, 35 states and Washington, D.C., have signed or already enacted laws or policies regarding student cell phone usage in K-12 classrooms. Cell phone ban legislation is also pending in five states: Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, and New Jersey.
While the biggest motivation behind banning cell phones in schools is to remove the distraction, there is a growing body of evidence linking smartphone use among children to adverse health outcomes. Most recently, on Dec. 1, a study published in the journal Pediatrics determined that children who have smartphones by age 12 are at an increased risk for depression, obesity, and lack of sleep.
Overall, the researchers found 12-year-olds who had a smartphone had a 1.3 times higher risk of depression, a 1.4 times higher risk of obesity, and a 1.6 times higher risk of insufficient sleep. Even children who did not have a phone at the age of 12 but received one a year later reported poorer mental health and sleep quality than kids of the same age who didn’t have a smartphone.
See which states have banned cell phones in schools.
#7: Which States Let Teachers Carry Guns in School?
For years now, school leaders, legislators, and other educational stakeholders have debated whether or not arming school staff to mitigate campus threats is a good idea.
Proponents argue students and teachers are sitting ducks if an armed intruder enters a school, pointing to various studies that show it takes law enforcement anywhere from five to 10 minutes to respond to an emergency.
Opponents argue arming teachers is an unfair responsibility to add to the plate of already overworked teachers, and that it is a significant insurance liability. Many also believe it will make students and staff less safe by increasing the likelihood of gun accidents in schools.
The most recent state to adopt arming teachers is North Carolina. As of Dec.1, approved teachers, staff, and volunteers can carry concealed handguns or stun guns in the state’s private schools.
