Centennial district outlines new immigration‑response protocols, staff training and family supports

The Centennial School District reported a series of operational changes to improve how schools respond if immigration‑enforcement activity occurs on or near campuses.

Superintendent Owens and Chief Communications Officer Christine presented results from a cross‑functional work group convened in January. The group — which included school leaders, transportation and safety staff, social workers, students and community partners — divided into two subgroups focused on (1) proactive staff training and safe and supportive schools and (2) social‑service connections and family resources.

Denise, a district lead for the work group, told the board the group created role‑specific, scenario‑based protocol one‑pagers for staff and consolidated immigration response and the district’s standard response protocol into a single training. Denise said district safety coordinator Neil O’Donnell and trainers have started in‑person trainings at schools to allow staff to ask questions and practice responses.

“Those topics kind of became entwined through that conversation,” Denise said, describing the work to ensure staff aren’t left to interpret procedures on their own. The district also piloted staff text alerts to deliver rapid notifications to employees and enabled community self‑enrollment for public notifications.

Transportation director Suzanne Cummings said bus drivers were previously anxious about certain scenarios; she said the updated protocols have helped drivers see how they fit into the district response system and described two incidents where the new processes worked as intended.

On family supports, social worker Amanda described affinity‑led spaces for students and culturally specific staff support for families. The district also organized emergency‑preparedness sessions in which families could complete forms, access notarization services and learn steps to prepare for detainment situations.

Denise told the board the district is on track to meet the requirements of House Bill 4079 (notification of immigration‑enforcement activity on campus) before the September implementation deadline. She said policy language updates aligned to HB 4079 and Senate Bill 1538 are expected in coming months.

The work group will pause for the summer and reconvene in the fall to incorporate the new training into annual onboarding and to broaden external communications. The district said information and resources are posted on an updated immigration resources web page, and staff will continue to refine communications and training schedules.

What’s next: the district will continue in‑person training rollouts over the summer, finalize required policy updates, and expand public communications for families and community partners.