St. Paul schools confronts mental health, learning impacts from ICE surge as students return
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This week, St. Paul Public Schools ended a temporary virtual learning option it began in mid-January, when many families feared sending their children to school due to the surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota.
At one point, about 7,000 students, roughly a fifth of the district’s student body, had taken the online option. By March 9, the number of virtual learners had shrunk to about 1,800, according to the district.
The district delayed its back-to-school deadline by one day, with classes canceled Monday due to snow. But by Tuesday, the remaining students who had been learning virtually were expected to have their first day back. As they return, the district is navigating the emotional and educational consequences of a situation that primarily impacted immigrant families and families of color.
Emotional impacts
Schools have been a major setting of incidents involving federal immigration officers and debates about their operations. In January, leaders of 12 Minnesota districts told MPR News that agents had staged in school parking lots, stopped school vehicles with students and staff inside, used pepper spray on school grounds and detained students and their relatives. These activities led families to keep their children home, using virtual learning options where they existed.
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Kathy Kimani, director of the Office of School Support at St. Paul Public Schools, said many families remain concerned about encounters with federal immigration agents. To ease those fears, she said the district is reiterating to staff that doors should remain locked and displaying signs that say immigration officers are not allowed to enter without a judicial warrant.
“We still are continuing to have adults present at pick-up and drop-off as additional support for school safety,” Kimani said.
She said schools have mental health teams that include counselors and psychologists who can help students who are struggling emotionally. “Our educators are often the first ones that look for signs that students might need additional help. They will notice something changing in a student, so they'll make that referral,” Kimani said.
Learning loss
Districts have been through something similar before. The COVID-19 pandemic led schools to roll out virtual and hybrid coursework. Many students across the country struggled to learn that way. Years later, data showed they still had not caught up.
This year’s round of temporary online instruction raised questions about learning losses that could disproportionately impact immigrant students and students of color.
Kimani said the temporary virtual option was not as robust as in-person learning or the district’s online school. “It did not offer the academic rigor that we want to provide to all students,” she said. “So with seven weeks, there will be some learning loss and gaps.”
She added that the needs vary across the district, after some schools saw 30 percent of students opting for virtual learning and others saw just two or three individuals.
Attendance and absenteeism
Minneapolis Public Schools has seen a large spike this year in the number of students who have been dropped from enrollment after missing 15 school days in a row, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. That has not been the case in St. Paul; but absences, which can hold students back academically, are still a concern.
Kimani said the district has social workers and attendance specialists who make calls and home visits to families if students are consistently missing school.
“We are seeing success, but it is slow and it is ongoing, and it needs to be individual outreach to families,” Kimani said.
Absences in the district spiked to 30 percent in mid-January, according to data shared with MPR News. They leveled off to about 20 percent, but that rate is still higher than in fall 2025.
St. Paul Public Schools is Minnesota’s second-largest district. The largest, Anoka-Hennepin, did not roll out a virtual option, but said students would not be considered truant if they missed school for safety reasons. Minneapolis Public Schools launched a virtual option in January and later extended it through April 6, the Monday after spring break.
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