Schools across Illinois and the country will soon be resuming classes for the 2025-2026 school year and while many families and children are savoring the last days of summer break or eagerly anticipating new classes and experiences, many immigrant families are also safety planning in the event they are swept up in an ICE raid or are questioning whether it’s safe to send their kids to school at all out of fear of immigration enforcement activity in or near schools.
Earlier this year, immigrant and education advocates, led by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the Latino Policy Forum, and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), along with members of the Illinois General Assembly, passed the first of its kind, Safe Schools for All, a bill aimed at making our state’s public K-12 schools places where immigrant parents could feel safe to bring their children. Just last week, Governor Pritzker signed the bill into law, making Illinois a national leader in protecting immigrant students and their right to an education.
Strong Attendance is Critical for Academic Success
Immigrant parents’ fears of taking their kids to school are legitimate and this is having a real impact on school attendance. In a recent study of five school districts serving immigrant communities in California’s Central Valley, researchers found a 22% increase in daily student absences during January and February 2025 compared to prior years. This dramatic increase in student absences is alarming.
Student attendance is one of the most important and measurable predictors of academic success in Illinois. The state defines “chronic absenteeism” as missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. In 2023–24, one in four Illinois students (26.3%) were chronically absent, which underscores how prevalent attendance challenges remain post-pandemic.
Recent research illustrates why attendance matters for long-term outcomes. A 2022 UChicago Consortium study following Chicago Public Schools students found that elementary and middle grade students with at least 90% attendance and a 3.0 GPA (“On-Track”) graduated high school at more than twice the rate of peers needing intensive support (93% vs. 39%) and enrolled in college at over four times the rate (72% vs. 16%).
And finally, in a 2024 study by the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) out of University of Illinois analyzing Illinois State Board of Education data, researchers found that in 2022, slightly more than 30% of students state-wide missed more than 10% of their school days (this was higher than the national rate of 26% of students.)
The research is clear, children, starting as early as preschool, who have strong attendance have better grades and are more likely to succeed. But if you are an immigrant parent with real fears that either you will encounter ICE at school, or that your child is in danger, strong attendance can be a real challenge.
Safe Schools for All
Soon after taking office, President Trump withdrew guidance that established schools and other important places as “protected spaces” where immigration authorities would not enter. Parents and community members were also growing concerned about the rapid and dramatic escalation in ICE presence and enforcement in their communities and were keeping children home from school out of fear. Recognizing these concerns, community groups, teachers, advocates, and legislators got to work on a statewide solution that would explicitly protect immigrant families at public schools.
The research is clear, children, starting as early as preschool, who have strong attendance have better grades and are more likely to succeed.
Safe Schools for All enshrines existing protections for immigrant students, which were affirmed by a 1982 Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, into state law. The new law requires schools in Illinois to develop and adopt policies and procedures that ensure students and families are not denied access to public education, prohibits disclosure of any information related to the immigration status of a child or a person associated with them, and finally, empowers families to defend their rights if a violation has occurred.
Recognizing how critical it is for children to go to school every day, the new law is an important step toward ensuring that all children will be protected at school so that they can thrive and flourish alongside their peers, as they rightfully deserve. Fear should not keep children home and should certainly not be a barrier to a bright and promising future.
The Latino Policy Forum has published a resource for immigrant families, Safe and Healthy Living: A Resource Guide for Immigrant Families, Providers, and Advocates. Click the link below to access the resource and learn about available workshops for immigrant families.
