According to Lawrence, the agents said a graduated Ponitz student had said they’d been told who to vote for when filling out a voter registration form.
“We don’t have any evidence of that,” Lawrence said.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Homeland Security Investigations — the primary investigative arm of DHS — visited Ponitz as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
“DHS did not conduct any immigration enforcement at this school,” a DHS spokesman said. “There is no threat to public safety.”
Lawrence said a group comes to schools and helps register 18-year-old students to vote each October, but the group is nonpartisan and doesn’t tell anyone who to vote for.
The encounter with DHS lasted about 15 minutes, Lawrence said, and he got their business cards.
If federal agents come to DPS buildings, Lawrence said the protocol is the building principal contacts him and the chief of security. They respond and talk to the agents. The district will not release student information or students to the federal government, he said.
The district said in a letter to families last year that it will not release information about students to federal agents unless it is subpoenaed, which could legally require the district to release information. The district does not collect information about the immigration status of its students.
Jen Miller, executive director of the Ohio League of Women’s Voters, said her group has not heard of any similar situations elsewhere in Ohio.
Miller noted that high schools are required by law to offer voter registration to 18-year-olds. She said Ohio already lags behind other neighboring states in 18-year-old voter registration.
“Voting is critical to having young people integrated into our society,” Miller said.
She said the federal government has no legal authority to conduct an investigation like this one.
“My hope is that this was a one-off occasion,” Miller said. “But such a fishing expedition could intimidate school staff and students when in fact, they are legally obligated to offer voter registration forms.”
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