BOSTON, MA — Boston Public Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang, who announced his impending departure from his position on Friday, issued a letter Monday to Boston Public Schools families in an attempt to clarify the district's stance on immigration issues. The letter also comes on the heels of a lawsuit suing the school district, accusing it of providing information to ICE that led to the arrest and deportation of a student.

"I'm taking the unusual step of speaking on a lawsuit we have not officially received yet because I want you to know how strongly we, as an organization, and I personally, as an educator and an immigrant, feel about protecting immigrant children. The allegation that has been made in news reports is that the Boston Public Schools (BPS) shared information with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that led to the arrest of a student. That claim is false," said Change in the open letter. The lawsuit, filed last week, focuses on a specific case where Boston Public Schools complied with requests from a team of investigators from the Boston Police Department and Massachusetts State Police, among other law enforcement agencies, that were investigating gang-related murders in East Boston more than two years ago, Chang said in the letter.

Chang said the district did provide relevant school police reports, but those did not contain any student immigration information. "The information provided did not contain any reference to an individual's immigration status," he said. "BPS would never give student information to ICE, unless required under law. It also fundamentally contradicts what we stand for and believe as an organization, and what thousands of our employees work in good faith to do every day."

In the letter addressed to the community, Chang says the district takes the Constitutional protection for children, regardless of immigration status, seriously. "BPS will continue to welcome and support immigrant students in our schools, and honor their constitutional right to a free and uninterrupted public school education. We always follow state and federal student records laws in sharing any student information. It would be against BPS policy to provide any student records to ICE, and BPS does not have a practice of doing so," he said.

Chang noted the issue was personal for him, as an immigrant child, himself.

I'm horrified by some of the actions our federal government is taking, particularly against immigrant families, actions that I believe are fundamentally contradictory to what this country stands for. I have long spoken out on the need to protect immigrant students, and will continue to do so.

That's even more important today. The atmosphere has changed dramatically in our country and in immigrant neighborhoods. Fear of deportation has grown sharply. Families worry that enforcement is no longer focused just on serious criminals. There is now constant anxiety for immigrant parents and children, and stress for teachers, principals, and other school staff who care so deeply about our immigrant families. That is why the Boston Public Schools, as a matter of policy, does not request immigration status from families nor does the district keep any records detailing the immigration status of our students. Furthermore, unless ordered to do so by statute or a court of law, BPS does not provide law enforcement authorities with copies of any students records, which are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Even if a law enforcement agency was to show up at a school with a warrant, only the BPS Office of Legal Advisor will determine whether BPS is required to respond or comply.

In March, the district instituted a new policy that provides strict guidelines on how Boston School Police officers provide school police reports to law enforcement authorities, including the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, he said.

Previously on Patch:

Civil Rights Group Sues Boston Public Schools, After ICE Incident