Watch those school bus camera contracts

 Because we cannot have nice things, it appears, 404 Media reports that BusPatrol, the school bus stop arm cameras purveyor, that many of us have worked so hard to get legalized are now sharing data directly with police departments well outside of the context of illegally passing stopped school buses: 

BusPatrol has already taken steps to share the collected data with law enforcement contracting giant Axon, according to leaked BusPatrol documents and a source with knowledge of the plans. Internally, BusPatrol has acknowledged how controversial its plan to collect and share this data is pointing specifically to concerns about ICE using license plate data, but emphasizes the likely success of selling the angle of protecting children.

Four things I would have preferred the House do this week

1.  Move forward the bar on religious exemptions for vaccinations. Just this week, the West Virginia bar withstood a federal appeals challenge. Just today, the AP is noting that babies too young for the MMR vaccine become "sitting ducks" in an outbreak. Given the anti-vaccine push by the federal government (as much as the courts are doing what they can), we cannot afford cracks in our community immunity. 
   
   
2. Do literally anything at all about Massachusetts being the only state in the country that has Democrats in charge of both chambers and the Governor's office and has a 287(g) contract with ICE. 
   Seriously. Anything at all. You could even pass a bill to make it illegal, like Maryland or Virginia, as that's the whole reason we have a legislature: making laws. 
   
   
3. Pass legislation protecting our immigrant neighbors from being preyed upon by the federal government, like the PROTECT Act, which passed out of committee two weeks ago, yet somehow was not seen as being as urgent as that bill on cell phones. I have been told they passed this? That missed my radar. One hopes it receives half the urgency from the rest of the process that this appears to have
    
4. Move forward the legislation that updates how inflation is calculated in the foundation budget, and make it effective for FY27, better aligning the foundation budget with district costs (and perhaps keeping us from the mistake of digging even bigger hold harmless aid holes).
   
   

please enjoy these pansies from my walk to work in Boston

Minneapolis Public Schools offering remote learning for a month

 Due to ICE activity in the district, Minneapolis Public Schools are providing remote learning through February 12. Per the AP: 

Immigration enforcement in cities across the U.S. has led to dips in attendance, parents and educators say. Advocates in other cities facing federal interventions have sought remote learning options, particularly for immigrant families that might feel vulnerable, but Minneapolis appears to be one of the few districts to reintroduce the option of virtual learning.

“This meets a really important need for our students who are not able to come to school right now,” a Minneapolis school administrator wrote in an email to their staff late Thursday.

Administrators’ emails to staff indicate the decision to offer remote learning wasn’t a quick one. They refer to long meetings with input from school principals and the teachers union, acknowledging the planning and coordination required to deliver virtual school.

That piece also covers more of what happened at Roosevelt High School on the same day Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer. 

On the same day as the shooting, immigration enforcement agents detained someone outside the city’s Roosevelt High School around dismissal time, which led to altercations with bystanders. The Minneapolis Federation of Educators said agents deployed tear gas and detained an educator before releasing them.

The Minnesota Star Tribune coverage of that is here.

 

One of our kids is in detention in Virginia

 ...and Wednesday, a judge said he is staying there: 

After a two-hour proceeding, Judge Jason Braun ruled the boy can stay in the United States for now, but he must remain at the juvenile detention center in Winchester, Virginia until his case is heard again Nov. 5.

The Globe adds:

 Lattarulo said the teen, who he said appeared very sad throughout the hearing, told the court he misses his mother in Everett.

“He’s probably maturing at a pace I wouldn’t like because it’s such a wake-up call to a child to be in that facility,” Lattarulo said. “I don’t think he’s good. He’s as good as he can be. When I talked to him, I could tell he’s trying to find strength in his voice, but you still hear the 13-year-old child.”

One of the questions I'd had, about his education, has been raised by lawmakers about all children in detention:

“ICE’s targeting of not only adults without criminal convictions, but also children and families, negates the administration’s stated policy of going after the ‘worst of the worst’ for deportation proceedings,” they note in an Oct. 3 letter signed by eight other New York Democratic U.S. representatives, including Ritchie Torres and Jerrold Nadler.

They demanded to know the total number of students — from kindergarten to college-age — arrested by the Department of Homeland Security since President Donald Trump took office in January. They want to learn how many remain in ICE custody, their average length of stay and what percentage were or are being held alongside their families. 

They further asked how the U.S. government is meeting its legal obligation to educate these children and, more specifically, about the quality and language proficiency of the teaching staff. 

“The Department of Education has the responsibility under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution to ensure that all students have equal access to education,” they wrote. “Please provide copies of curricula, sample lesson plans, and rubrics currently in use at ICE detention facilities, processing sites, and Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters.”