With the start of the school year around the corner, Orland High School District 230 Superintendent Robert Nolting said there are concerns U.S. travel bans could delay some students’ return to school.
Nolting said several student families recently told their school guidance offices they’re worried they might not make it back into the U.S. in time for school, which begins on Aug. 13.
The district has also had similar issues due to travel restrictions in the past, he said.
“Some of the travel restrictions and things that are going on are creating a heightened sense this particular year, a little bit higher than past years, but it’s not a situation we’re not unfamiliar with. It’s just something we’re expecting to be a little higher now,” Nolting said.
Historically, Nolting said, the district’s three high schools — Andrew in Tinley Park, Sandburg in Orland Park and Stagg in Palos Hills — often have students and families visit family or friends in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa over the summer.
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Several nearby school districts declined to comment on the issue. High School District 218 Superintendent Josh Barron said while he has not heard any reports of families being concerned they might miss school due to travel restrictions, the district is still concerned.
If students miss school due to travel bans or other reasons, Nolting said it’s helpful to communicate with the school as early as possible to establish a plan.
The district can provide makeup work ahead of time for shorter absences. For longer absences, the district can adjust the student’s schedule or place them on an online track to transition into school when they arrive.
The school also reaches out to registered students when they miss days if they don’t hear from them.
But the longer the absences continue, especially if they continue after Labor Day, the harder it is to accommodate, Nolting said.
“Every day out at the beginning, it’s just tougher and tougher for kids to catch up,” Nolting said. “If we know before the school year starts, that’s better for us to get advanced notice and plan ahead.”
Students could also miss out on opportunities, resources and athletics if they don’t show up, he said. Fall sport practices usually begin before the first day of classes, and seniors also sometimes have college or post-secondary education deadlines before the start of school.
He said the district saw disruption and delays from travel bans in 2019 and 2020, along with similar issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
President Donald Trump enacted travel bans in early June, citing national security concerns, that mostly affect people from Africa and the Middle East, and the policy does not have an end date. While the policy has a dozen exemptions, such as dual citizens, the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement early June that “past patterns suggest risk of overreach at ports of entry.”
Jordan Esparza-Kelley, communications coordinator for the council, said Thursday the nonprofit has received increased concerns about re-entry into the U.S. compared to previous years due to the lack of structure around the recent bans and how fast everything is changing.
“It’s just not being conducted in a quality matter,” Esparza-Kelley said. “Families have to be concerned just because of the discriminatory nature of these laws that are being brought forth, especially at port of entries in the United States.”
Esparza-Kelley advised families who want to attend school on time to start making the travel back to the U.S.
Trump also enacted several travel bans during his first term as president that lasted through 2020, and additional bans were added during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nolting said the district also experiences students missing the first days of the school for other reasons. He said sometimes students get confused because nearby school districts start at different times, and he said the district often starts with 96% of its students and enrolls the other 4% as they arrive in the first couple weeks.
“We face that challenge with families that move into the district that might be coming from Chicago Public Schools, which sometimes starts even as late as Labor Day,” Nolting said. “So we’ll always be enrolling students.”