Ridgefield committee moves to align visitor and safety policies with state law requiring immigration‑interaction protocols

Mister Paradiso, speaking for the policy committee chairs, told members that Public Act 25‑1, passed by the Connecticut legislature in March 2025, requires boards of education to update safety and visitor policies to include protocols for district interactions with federal immigration authorities.

"This language is required," he said, and the committee reviewed model policy language recommended by legal counsel. Josh Zabin, who spoke for district operations, told the committee those protocols already exist in writing, are included in the district’s all-hazards plan and have been shared with administrators since 2024.

Zabin outlined operational safeguards: building administrators are documented as points of contact for immigration matters and, when absent, a covering administrator assumes responsibility. He said the district maintains an incident-command protocol for large-scale events, stores lead-contact documentation in site 'go books' and includes appendices of district-specific protocols in the annual all-hazards submission to the state.

Committee members also discussed confidentiality. Zabin noted it is statutory that the district safety/security plan is not a public document; it is reviewed and signed by emergency partners including police, fire, EMS and emergency management, as well as the superintendent and board staff. Committee members said the proposed policy edits will formalize existing practice and comply with the statutory requirement.

The committee agreed to move the revised visitor policy (policy 1250) and a new or renumbered safety policy (packet reference to policy 1310 supplanting 3517) to the full board for first reading. No changes to the district’s operational incident-command procedures were proposed at this meeting.