St. Paul Public Schools expand virtual options and supports for immigrant families amid ICE surge
St. Paul Public Schools is offering online learning at every school and launched a temporary virtual option beginning Jan. 22 (with no school Jan. 19–21 to allow staff preparation); families can opt into remote instruction that keeps students with their current teachers and classmates, and roughly 6,000 students initially enrolled. The district frames the move as a safety/stability response to increased ICE/federal enforcement and is adding operational supports — reassigned teachers, tech distribution, adjusted schedules and attendance policies, language access, counseling and community partnerships — to help immigrant and mixed‑status families stay connected to school.
📌 Key Facts
- St. Paul Public Schools is offering online learning at every school in the district (not just selected sites); temporary virtual learning began Thursday, Jan. 22 after schools were closed Jan. 19–21 to accommodate MLK Day and give staff time to prepare.
- The temporary virtual option is organized so students remain with teachers and classmates from their current school (distinct from the separate SPPS Online School); families can opt into remote instruction for the designated temporary period and the district has published operational opt‑in details.
- About 6,000 students opted into the new online‑learning track in direct response to immigration enforcement fears, with certain schools and grade levels showing the heaviest uptake and resulting schedule adjustments.
- Administrators implemented operational steps to support the rapid shift online — reassigning teachers, distributing technology, and updating attendance policies and schedules — to serve thousands of students.
- SPPS leaders frame the move as a safety and stability response to increased immigration enforcement activity, including a greater federal agent presence/’Metro Surge,’ and explicitly link the decision to regional moves such as Minneapolis’ extended e‑learning after the ICE killing of Renee Good.
- The district is structuring ongoing virtual‑learning avenues specifically to serve immigrant and mixed‑status families beyond the initial 6,000‑student opt‑in window.
- SPPS is layering additional supports — technology help, language access, counseling, and work with community partners — and district leaders say ICE operations have affected attendance, student mental health, and future planning (with updated quotes provided by officials).
📊 Relevant Data
In St. Paul Public Schools, the student demographics for the 2025-2026 school year show 77% students of color, with breakdowns as follows: American Indian 3.0%, Asian 28.1%, Black or African American 23.7%, Hispanic 15.3%, White 23.0%, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1%, Two or more races 6.8%.
ABOUT SPPS — Saint Paul Public Schools
Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota has resulted in approximately 4,000 arrests since its beginning, with the operation targeting criminal illegal aliens including perpetrators of fraud, thieves, and drug traffickers.
By the Numbers: ICE in Minnesota — Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
Somali immigrants began arriving in Minnesota in 1992 primarily as refugees fleeing civil war, with resettlement facilitated by federal programs and agencies like the International Institute, leading to secondary migration through family sponsorship and community networks.
Somali and Somali American Experiences in Minnesota — MNopedia (Minnesota Historical Society)
Somali immigrants in Minnesota exhibit higher rates of criminal involvement, particularly in fraud and other crimes, compared to native-born residents, based on recent analyses.
Yes, Somali Immigrants Commit More Crime Than Natives — City Journal
The migration of Somalis to Minnesota has created stark socioeconomic disparities, with factors including limited education and language barriers contributing to economic challenges.
Somali Immigrants in Minnesota — Center for Immigration Studies
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Details how SPPS is structuring its new virtual-learning avenues specifically for immigrant and mixed‑status families beyond the initial 6,000‑student opt‑in window.
- Describes additional supports being layered in — such as technology help, language access, counseling, and work with community partners — to keep fearful families connected to school.
- Provides updated quotes and framing from SPPS leaders on how ICE operations and Metro Surge have affected attendance, student mental health, and the district’s planning going forward.
- St. Paul Public Schools says roughly 6,000 students have opted into the new online‑learning track in direct response to immigration enforcement fears.
- The district specifies which schools and grade levels are seeing the heaviest uptake of virtual learning and how schedules are being adjusted for those students.
- Administrators detail operational steps (reassigned teachers, tech distribution, attendance policies) taken to support the sudden shift of thousands of students online.
- Confirms SPPS will offer online learning at every school in the district, not just selected sites.
- Provides operational details on how families can opt into remote instruction and for what time period.
- Clarifies that the move is framed by SPPS leadership as a safety/stability response to ongoing immigration enforcement activity.
- Confirms temporary virtual learning for SPPS will begin Thursday, Jan. 22.
- States there will be no school on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and Wednesday, Jan. 21, to give staff time to prepare for virtual learning (in addition to MLK Day on Jan. 19).
- Clarifies that the temporary virtual option keeps students with teachers and classmates from their current school, distinct from the separate SPPS Online School.
- Reiterates that the district explicitly frames the move as a response to 'safety concerns related to the increased presence of federal agents in the Twin Cities.'
- Directly links the SPPS move to Minneapolis Public Schools’ e‑learning option through Feb. 12 following the ICE killing of Renee Good.