Residents, parents, and students voiced their frustration over what they believed to be the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Apopka High School (AHS) nearly two weeks ago and the school district’s subsequent handling of the situation and communication with the public.

Over a dozen community members, including AHS students, commented about the matter at the Aug. 26 Orange County School Board meeting at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center in Orlando.

On the morning of Friday, Aug. 15, Florida Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop near AHS, and the vehicle occupants fled the scene. Out of precaution, the school was placed on a hold. Apopka police assisted with a perimeter until all occupants had been located. As a result, five people were brought into custody, and the school returned to normal operations.

Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director of the Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka, urged the school board to take three actions: ensure that school resource officers don’t collaborate or share information with ICE; guarantee that no student is interrogated by ICE without a parent, guardian, or attorney present; and see that the school gives clear, timely guidance to staff and families when ICE is near schools.

“Our school should be a place for safe learning, not a place of fear,” he said.

Miguel Torres, a student at Apopka High School, recounted his school going on lockdown at around 6:45 a.m. with a heavy police presence.

“I couldn’t believe how serious it was with the cops, ICE agents, and even a helicopter circling the school,” he said.

Torres said he was upset by the lack of timely communication, noting that mother didn’t receive a message until 7:05 a.m., which left parents and students confused. He also expressed disappointment that the school administration did not address the anti-Latino comments circulating on social media.

“My ask is that staff needs to be ready and know what to do with ICE agents, where to be on school campus,” Torres said.

Suzanne Kidd, a former educator and Apopka resident, asked Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) to establish clear protocols and training for teachers on how to respond when ICE is on school grounds.

School Board Chair Teresa Jacobs apologized for the communication failures and emphasized the need for better protocols and parental notification. She also said that from what she understood, there was no ICE on school campus.

“I don’t believe we had ICE on the school campus, but if I’m wrong on that, I definitely want to understand why I don’t have accurate information,” Jacobs said. “But regardless of whether ICE was on the property or not, some of the comments that have been made and the suggestions that we need to make sure, not just our administrators, but that our teachers know what the protocol is, whoever made that recommendation, I think that’s an excellent point.”

Melissa Byrd, school board district 7 member, explained the school’s version of events, based on her conversations with law enforcement and school officials.

From such conversations Byrd said she was “under the impression that no one got on school property.” The incident began when Florida Highway Patrol requested assistance from the Apopka Police Department, believing individuals had run onto the school campus. The school was put on secure/hold status as a precaution while police searched the area; no one was found.

Byrd attributed the delayed communication to the early hour of the incident, before most staff, including Principal Lyle Heinz, had arrived. She acknowledged that traffic from the secure/hold status blocked roads, making it difficult for school officials to get a message out promptly.

“It was not ICE on the school property, from what I understand,” she said.
Addressing the social media commentary, Byrd said she was “really disturbed by children that are repeating things that they’re seeing on their social media.”

She urged the community to “be more careful with your words and to think about the people that these words are affecting.”

Byrd ended her comments by expressing her support for the community: “I understand that you all are scared and that you need guidance, you need counseling, you need people there that are supporting you, and I fully stand by you on that.”