District & College Actions

Chancellor Lee Lambert recommended that the Board of Trustees adopt resolution 2025-05 in Support of Undocumented Students and Affirming the Privacy of Student Records. The vote at the Board meeting on Jan. 13, 2025 was unanimously yes.

Background and Analysis: The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office continues to support its commitment to undocumented students that provided guidance to local districts in dealing with immigration-related uncertainties in light of statements made by President-Elect Donald Trump during his campaign. The resolution reaffirms the district's commitment to serving as an open educational institution and maintaining the privacy of student records.

WHEREAS, the California Community Colleges are open to all students who meet the minimum requirements for admission, regardless of immigration status; and

WHEREAS, in December 2016, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees adopted resolution 2016-44 in Support of Undocumented Students and Affirming the Privacy of Student Records; and

WHEREAS, on September 18, 2017, the California Community Colleges Chancellor issued a Statement of Values and Commitment to Undocumented Students confirming that the Chancellor’s Office will not release any personally identifiable student information without a judicial warrant, including data related to immigration status, will not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on protected characteristics such as religion, race, immigration status, or sexual orientation, and will urge local governing bodies to do the same; and

WHEREAS, in 2018, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 54 and Assembly Bill 21, prohibiting state and local agencies from using resources to aid federal immigration enforcement and seeking to ensure that public and private institutions of higher education in California foster a campus community that is safe and supportive of all students, faculty, and staff, regardless of immigration status; and

WHEREAS, the California Attorney General affirmed in its “Promoting a Safe and Secure Campus for All: Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California Colleges and Universities in Responding to Immigration Issues” that “under the California Constitution, all students and staff—regardless of immigration status— have a right to privacy and ‘the inalienable right to attend campuses which are safe, secure and peaceful.’ The California Supreme Court has affirmed that an immigrant student’s right to an equal educational opportunity is ‘a vitally important right in our society.’ Protections are expressly codified in California law to assure educational access for all, regardless of a student’s immigration status, ‘in any [educational] program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance, or enrolls pupils who receive state financial aid;’” and

WHEREAS, on January 15, 2021, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District approved administrative procedure 3415 Immigration Enforcement Activities and administrative procedure 5017 Responding to Inquiries of Immigration Status, Citizenship Status, and National Origin Information, based on the California Attorney General’s model policies to provide safe and secure campuses for all students; and

WHEREAS, the mission of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District states in part that we are “driven by an equity agenda and core values of integrity, inclusion, care for our students' well-being, and sustainability; and

WHEREAS, although uncertainty exists about the specific immigration and education policies the incoming administration will seek to implement, Foothill-De Anza Community College District will strongly advocate to protect our students and our district’s values; and

WHEREAS, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)the Foothill-De Anza Community College District does not release any personally identifiable student information, including any data related to immigration status, unless authorized by the student or required by law.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Foothill-De Anza Community College District will not detain, question, or arrest any individual solely because of undocumented immigration status, suspected or confirmed, except as required by judicial warrant, subpoena, or court order.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Foothill-De Anza Community College District shall not cooperate with any federal or state effort to create a registry of individuals based on any legally protected characteristics, such as religion, national origin, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. No confidential student records will be released without a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order, unless authorized by the student or required by law.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Trustees of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District this 13th day of January 2025.

WHEREAS, college and university leaders across the country are concerned about reports regarding the potential ending of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program;

WHEREAS, DACA is rooted in the fundamental premise that no one should be punished for the actions of others;

WHEREAS, to be eligible for DACA, an individual must have been brought to this country as a minor, demonstrated lawful conduct, and continued to pursue an education;

WHEREAS, DACA students do not represent a public safety threat but represent some of the finest young individuals on whom our country's future depends;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Foothill-De Anza Community College District heartily supports the November 29, 2016, request of President-Elect Trump issued by the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges that he announce his support to continue DACA, thereby allowing these students to better their lives and their communities.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Trustees of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District this 12th day of December, 2016.

• FHDA police will not detain, question or arrest any individual solely on the basis of (suspected) undocumented immigration status.
• Foothill College will not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race or sexual orientation.
• Foothill College will not release confidential student records without a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order, unless authorized by the student or required by law.

Read the official letter of support from the former chancellor of California Community Colleges.