Following the passage of the PROTECT Act, Citizens for Juvenile Justice created two new tools: 

1. an updated Advocate's Toolkit to Ensure Law Enforcement Compliance with the PROTECT Act in Massachusetts and 

2. a Massachusetts School District PROTECT Act Implementation Tracker.

These tools help community members track whether school districts have implemented policies to protect students from immigration enforcement and take action to strengthen local policies limiting police and sheriff collaboration with ICE.

1. Advocate's Toolkit to Ensure Law Enforcement Compliance with the PROTECT Act in Massachusetts

In August 2026, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the PROTECT Act (Chapter 163 of the Acts of 2026), which limits local law enforcement’s communication and collaboration with ICE. The PROTECT Act provides a new floor for law enforcement collaboration with ICE, but it is not a ceiling. Municipal- and county-level advocacy is necessary to ensure that local law enforcement comply with the PROTECT Act and actually protect our immigrant neighbors. 

This toolkit - updated in October 2026 - provides information and action steps for local policy change at the town council, police department, and sheriff department levels that can constrain law enforcement collaboration with ICE.

2. Massachusetts School District PROTECT Act Implementation Tracker

The PROTECT Act created new legal obligations for school districts to protect children in their care from being abducted by federal immigration authorities.

These obligations include developing and sharing policies and procedures for dealing with ICE.

A district’s policy is adopted by its school committee (for a charter school, its board of trustees). Its procedures, which put the policy into practice, are set by the superintendent (or the charter school’s executive director), following DESE’s model policy and procedures.

70 of 325 public school districts post a PROTECT Act policy or procedures online. 252 were checked and neither was found; 16 of 72 charter schools post at least one item, though some are drafts or predate the Act.

Share this post