Lexington's School Committee Policy Subcommittee will take up a new state law that bars immigration agents from making warrantless arrests at schools when it meets Tuesday, Sept. 1.

A revised agenda filed with the Town Clerk on Friday, Aug. 28, adds "Review Protect Act Policy" as Item VII. The original agenda, filed Aug. 25, did not include the item.

Gov. Maura Healey signed the PROTECT Act into law on Aug. 5. The law prohibits warrantless immigrant arrests at schools, childcare centers, hospitals and courthouses. It also lets parents pre-arrange guardianship for their children if they are detained or deported, requires multilingual guidance on immigration enforcement procedures and individual rights, and bans new 287(g) agreements between federal immigration authorities and state agencies.

The Healey administration described the law as the strongest in the country to protect people from ICE, according to a state press release.

The agenda item arrives as schools reopen. Adaku Onyeka-Crawford, an attorney and director of the Opportunity to Learn Program at the Advancement Project, told K-12 Dive in August that "immigration enforcement is showing up closer to school doors than ever before." K-12 Dive reported that in 2025 and 2026, at least 17 incidents of ICE activity on school properties were documented nationally.

The agenda does not specify whether the subcommittee plans to draft a new district policy in response to the state law, review an existing draft or assess compliance requirements. No supporting documents accompanied the revision.

Summer handbook review continues

The Sept. 1 meeting is part of a broader policy handbook review the subcommittee has conducted across multiple sessions this summer. Agendas from the Aug. 20 and June 3 meetings show the panel working through policy sections covering student conduct and discipline, school choice, student health services and student technology use.

The session runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will be held remotely via Google Meet. Nine agenda items are packed into that one-hour window.

The subcommittee's next scheduled meeting is Sept. 17, from 9 to 10 a.m. That agenda, already posted, does not include a Protect Act item.